How Many Have You Loved Before Me? And After Me?
by hernamewaslola93
Summary: Title credit goes to the movie "Tristan and Isolde". In times of darkness, light is born. She's been reborn over thousands of lifetimes. And in one of her lifetimes, she's learned that love is the most powerful thing alive. 17 years ago, light was reborn. Sucky summary, this is my first story and its Klaus/OC
1. Character and Prologue

**Character**

Name: Charlotte Gilbert (poll on profile to decide who plays her)

Nickname: Charlie

Age :17 (Younger Fraternal Twin to Elena)

Personality: Courageous, Caring, Headstrong, Flirty, Honest, Nurturer

Bio: Charlotte is Elena's sister. She also cares a great deal for her family and friends to the point where she would do anything for them. Before her parents died she was a wild and carefree girl, but now is trying to be more mature and grounded for her siblings. She tries to seem like she is happy but the mask she wears only comes off when she's alone.

**Prologue**

_Charlotte's laughter rang through the forest as she ran and tried to hide._

"_Charlotte," a man's frustrated voice called after her. "Come on love."_

"_You have to find me first," she giggled back to him, unaware he was coming up behind her. She felt strong arms wrap around her small waist and tumbled back, sending them both crashing to the ground. She landed with a grunt and found herself pinned beneath the man's muscular body. _

"_You cheated, you were supposed to let me hide first." she pouted out making him chuckle._

"_Honestly sweetheart, you think you will find a place where I would never be able to find you?" he asked. She let out a sigh and a soft smile as she felt his large hand gently caress her face. _

"_I will always find you." His soft lips murmured against her skin making butterflies erupt in her stomach. "I will always be with you, we will always be together. And I promise no one will ever dare tear us apart." He gazed intensely at her as he ran his knuckles down her cheek. _

_She finally opened her eyes, her love for him burning throughout them and whispered the words the blue-eyed man was dying for her to say, "I will always love you."_


	2. Chapter 1: Pilot

**I've chosen Sophia Bush to portray Charlotte **

**Character picture and outfits links are on profile.**

Chapter 1: The Pilot

Charlotte woke up gasping for air; the dreams started happening four months ago, just after the accident. She quickly glanced at her alarm and discovered she still had hours before school. Today was the first day and it was no secret she was dreading it. Adjusting to her parents' death was hard for Charlotte, struggling to hide her grief from her friends and family was a challenge that she just didn't think she would be able to conquer.

She let her mind wonder back to the dreams she had been having, trying to remember the man's face, but kept coming up blank. She realized that minutes had passed and hurriedly changed into a pair of spandex capris and piled her chestnut hair on top of her head in a bun. She left her bedroom and tip-toed as quietly as she could down the stairs and slipped on her running shoes. She stepped outside looking up and saw that the sky held its morning glow. And then she started to run.

As her feet pounded against the pavement, all she heard was the thumping of her heart in her ears. Last year things were so much different. She was fun and knew how to laugh, she loved being around people; but now she could barely stand to. Maybe it was because she thought that someone would be able to see through the façade she had created for herself, or because she just didn't want to have to pretend she wasn't happy anymore. But she was willing to try for her sister Elena.

She ran and she didn't stop until she was out of breath and couldn't run anymore. By the time she returned home, the sun was already high in the sky. She walked up her porch steps and through the door, stopping as she heard a noise. Charlotte walked to the kitchen doorway and saw her mother's sister and now her guardian, Jenna.

"Morning." she whispered.

"Morning Charlie," Jenna replied. "You went for a run?"

"Yeah, I had a lot on my mind. I'm gonna go get ready for school." Charlotte said, turning her back to go upstairs.

Jenna smiled, happy to see that her niece was slowly returning to her old self. Charlotte always used to go for morning runs, but after her parents died in the accident, she just locked herself away in her room.

Charlotte grabbed a towel and made her way into the bathroom for a quick shower. She stripped out of her clothes and turned the shower on, sighing as the hot water hit her skin that was glistening with sweat. She reached out and grabbed her shower sponge and lathered it with the floral scented body wash. She let the water wash over her lightly tanned skin after she scrubbed the dirt and grime clean from her skin. She hastily washed her hair and once finished, shut the shower off and wrapped herself in a white fluffy towel.

She made her way out of the bathroom and into her bedroom to get dressed. Going through her closet, she tried to pick out an outfit that would satisfy her best friend Caroline Forbes. Even though people saw Caroline as Mystic Falls' resident mean girl, Charlotte knew a side of her that not even her sister Elena, or their other best friend Bonnie Bennett knew. All of Caroline's shallowness and competitiveness were just to cover up her insecurities that were hidden underneath her confident exterior. The Caroline she knew was sensitive, loyal, brave and quite audacious.

She finally picked out her outfit which consisted of a white scoop neck t-shirt, beige roll-up shorts with a thin braided belt looped through and a blue blazer. She quickly blow dried her hair, got dressed and slipped on a pair of platform sandals. Charlotte walked over to stand in front of her mirror. She practiced a smile and once she was satisfied that it looked genuine enough, grabbed her bag from the chair in the corner of her room. Once she came to the conclusion that she had everything she needed for the day, she made her way out of her bedroom and towards her sister Elena's.

As she pushed open her sister's bedroom door, Elena lifted her head to greet her sister. Charlotte noticed that Elena was sitting and writing in her diary.

"Hey Charlie," she said.

"Hi, you ready to go?" Elena nodded her head as her response and put her diary in her bag and followed her younger sister down the stairs. As both girls made their way into the kitchen, they saw Aunt Jenna carelessly rummaging around in the refrigerator. She peeked her head out as soon as she noticed her nieces had arrived.

"Toast. I can make toast." Jenna said turning to look at Charlotte and Elena. Elena was already turned away pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"It's all about the coffee Aunt Jenna." Elena said, quietly sighing, about to take a sip. Charlie quickly made her way towards her and stole the cup before it could touch her sister's lips and took a big gulp from it herself. Elena gave Charlotte a look and moved to grab another mug to pour coffee into.

"Is there coffee?" their little brother Jeremy asked, approaching both the girls from behind. He walked up to Elena and snatched the new mug of coffee she just poured for herself, and walked away taking a sip. She opened her mouth to protest, but just ended up rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"It's your first day of school and I am totally unprepared…" Jenna said losing concentration on what she was saying as she searched through her purse.

"Lunch money?" she asked walking over to the Gilbert siblings.

"I'm okay." Elena answered.

"I'm all set. Thanks." Charlotte said, smiling softly.

Jeremy however walked up to Jenna and grabbed the money that was in her hand.

"Anything else? A #2 pencil?" Jenna asked putting things into her purse. "What am I missing?" She asked.

"Don't you have a big presentation today?" Charlotte asked with a tilted head, slightly confused.

"I'm meeting with my thesis adviser at…" Jenna glanced down at the watch on her wrist. "Now. Huh, crap." She said taking her hair out of a bun.

"Then go." Elena said.

"Yea, we'll be fine." Charlotte said re assuring her.

Jenna just nodded and grabbed her bag and left, leaving Charlotte, Elena, and Jeremy in the kitchen. Charlotte turned to Jeremy who was looking depressed as always.

"You okay?" She asked, with concern.

"Ugh, don't start." He said grabbing his coffee off the counter and then walked away. All she could do was let out a sigh and exchange worried glances with Elena as they both waited for Bonnie to pick them up.

On their way to school Charlotte and Elena just stared out the window with their arms crossed over their chests; both of them thinking of their parents and the upcoming school year. Bonnie, seemingly uncomfortable with all the silence, decided to speak.

"So, Grams is telling me I'm psychic. Our ancestors were from Salem! Witches and all that! I know crazy! And she is going on and on about it and I'm like 'put this woman in a home already'! But then again, I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger. And I still think Florida will break off and turn into a resort island."

She paused and glanced back and forth between Elena and Charlotte.

"Elena! Charlie! Back in the car," She said smiling. We both snapped our heads toward Bonnie.

"Sorry Bon." Charlotte said. She heard Elena take a deep breath.

"I did it again. I'm sorry too Bonnie, but you were telling me that. . ." Elena said, but she was cut off by Bonnie.

"That I'm psychic now." Bonnie said nodding her head smiling.

"Right. . . Then predict something, about me and Lena." Charlotte said to Bonnie giggling.

"I see. . ." Bonnie began but was cut off by her windshield being hit by a large crow. Charlotte looked at Elena with wide eyes. They had both been in the car when their parents died. They were both still a little timid on driving in a car again.

The car's tires screeched as Bonnie pulled the car into a stop. She looked aghast, and perturbed.

"What was that?" Bonnie asked frantically. Elena and Charlotte's large long breaths were filling the car.

"A crow," Charlotte was barely able to get out.

"Oh my god, guys are you okay?" She asked sounding concerned.

"It's okay. I'm alright." Charlotte said from the backseat, trying to steady herself, she glanced at Elena who looked just as unhinged as her.

"I'm okay too. I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life." Elena replied looking at Bonnie. Bonnie nodded her head unconvinced.

"I predict this year is going to be kick ass and I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you two are going to be beyond happy. And that Charlotte is finally going to get that man she's been dreaming about!" Bonnie said smiling boldly.

Charlotte gallantly laughed and grinned at Bonnie replying that she couldn't even remember the man's name or face and that she'd been dreaming about him for over the last 4 months; so she wouldn't know him even if he was a real person.

Elena laughed too and turned in her seat to smile at Charlotte and then smiled at Bonnie and said, "Let's hope so."

"Major lack of male real estate…" Bonnie said, looking around the halls of Mystic Falls High.

"I'm not looking for any guy. But will you look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beach!" Charlotte answered, looking at Kelly who was wearing a dress that really did resemble a shower curtain. Elena and Bonnie both laughed.

The three girls approached their lockers that were right next to each other, Charlotte saying she needed to hurry up and go find Caroline. Bonnie turned to look at Elena and Charlotte but both girls could see that she was looking past them. They followed her gaze and noticed that she was looking at Matt Donovan and Tyler Lockwood.

Matt was Elena's boyfriend slash best friend. Well at least he was until she broke up with him because she needed time after their parents' deaths. Now Tyler was Charlotte's ex. But she broke up with him because it just didn't feel right for her anymore. He was the stereotypical jock, and it took her parents' deaths and the reoccurring dreams for her to realize that her heart would never belong to him.

Charlotte just waved at them. They didn't wave back. Matt would have, but Charlotte guessed he didn't because Elena was standing next to her. Elena lifted her hand to wave at Matt, but he just turned back towards his locker and slammed it shut, causing Elena to give a frustrated sigh.

"He hates me." She said discouraged.

"Elena that is not hate, that's 'you dumped me, and I'm too cool to show it'. 'But secretly, I am listening to Air Supply's greatest hits.'" Charlotte stated in a matter of fact tone to her sister, trying to lift her spirits.

"And how do you know that?" Bonnie asked.

"Because, I am like, the all knowing goddess!" Charlotte laughed. Bonnie rolled her eyes at her best friend with a smirk plastered on her face. She missed this side of Charlie.

"Now if you'll excuse me ladies, I need to go find a bestie named Caro…." Her words were cut off when she felt someone attach themselves to her in a fierce hug. Charlotte lifted her head to be greeted with the sight of a blonde headed girl.

Caroline suddenly let go of Charlotte and repeated the action with Elena.

"Charlie, Lena!" she said once she let go, only to pull us both into a hug again.

"Oh my god! How are you guys? It's so good to see you two!" Caroline exclaimed and then turned to Bonnie.

"How are they? Are they good?" Caroline asked her.

"Care, were standing right here." Charlotte said, unaffected by her best friend's incessant banter, while waving her hand showing her she was there. "And you just saw me yesterday so you know that I'm fine. What about you Lena?" She said, turning everyone's attention to Elena.

"I'm fine too." Elena said giving Charlotte a hidden glare that she knew was there.

"Really?" Caroline asked unsure.

"Much better," Elena said.

"You poor thing…" Caroline said as she wrapped Elena in another hug. Elena glared at Charlie over Caroline's shoulder. Probably about mentioning her, but Charlotte only giggled and poked her tongue out at her sister.

Elena mumbled something to Caroline and then she let go. "See you three later." Caroline said to the trio and turned and walked away down the hall.

Charlotte turned her attention back to Elena. "Would you like to comment on that?" Charlotte asked her, a teasing tone in her voice.

"No comment." Elena said, walking away as Bonnie and Charlotte just giggled at each other.

Elena, Bonnie and Charlotte were about to walk past the main office until Bonnie paused.

"Hold up. Who's this?" Bonnie asked, staring intently into the office. Charlotte turned her head to look at what she was talking about, and saw a guy talking to the secretary.

"All I see is back." Charlotte plainly stated. Elena and Bonnie giggled, she always states the obvious.

"That's a hot back." Bonnie said checking the guy out. Charlotte rolled her eyes at them and Elena chuckled at her.

"I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar." Bonnie said staring at the new guy. Elena and Charlotte exchanged looks and then looked at Bonnie. Charlie looked at her like she was crazy.

"You're really gonna run this whole psychic thing into the ground?" Elena asked trying to hold back her giggles.

"Pretty much," Bonnie responded.

Charlotte noticed her younger brother Jeremy walking into the Boy's bathroom not looking too good.

"We'll be right back. Come on Elena." She said grabbing her sister's arm and dragging her along side her.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"To our troublesome brother…" Charlotte replied trailing off, pulling Elena along with her into the bathroom. There, they witnessed Jeremy in front of the mirror, putting eye drops in his eyes. Charlotte rolled her eyes, and stood there, trying to think of a reasonable way to approach the situation. Elena had no hesitation and walked up to him. She grabbed his face, and looked into his eyes.

"Great, it's the first day of school and you're already stoned." Elena lectured.

"No, I'm not." Jeremy argued trying to keep eye contact but wasn't able to for obvious reasons.

"Where is it? Is it on you?" Elena questioned.

"Stop! Stop! Alright you need to chill yourself alright!" Jeremy said throwing Elena's hands off of him. Charlotte just stood by the door watching as her older and younger siblings argued with one another.

"Chill myself? What is this stoner talk? Dude, you are so cool." Elena said continuing to search him.

"Stop, I don't have anything on me! Are you crazy?" Jeremy said annoyed.

"You haven't seen crazy Jeremy! I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself." Jeremy tried to get up but Elena pushed him back down onto the sink.

"No, no, no go ahead. But I will be there to ruin your buzz every time. You got it?" Elena said in complete seriousness.

"Okay, Elena, I think you've got this one. I'm gonna go on back to Bonnie." Charlotte said deciding to step out. As Charlotte walked out of the bathroom, she collided with a hard body.

"Oomph…" Before she could fall back, the person grabbed onto her shoulders to steady her. "Sorry," she said, finally looking up and noticing it was the boy from the office.

"No it's my fault" he smiled down at her, stunned when he saw her face, she was gorgeous, a pair of bright hazel orbs met his green ones. It was then her noticed how tantalizing sweet her scent was.

"You're new here? Aren't you? I haven't seen you before," Charlotte asked. He just gazed at her, shocked by how mesmerizing her voice was. He finally snapped out of his daze and smiled and nodded.

"I'm Stefan Salvatore" he held out his hand.

"Charlotte Gilbert. But you can call me Charlie." she shook his hand, her small soft hand being engulfed by his much larger one. Stefan was unaware that when they shook hands that Charlie had felt something.

"Well it was nice to meet you Stefan." She shone a radiant smile up at him as she stepped around him to make her way back towards Bonnie.

"You as well, I'll see you in class" he replied, and walked around her, only for him to bump into Elena as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Bonnie and Charlotte watched as Elena stared at Stefan in absolute wonder. They then started to laugh as the two kept stepping the same way when trying to make way around one another. Charlotte planted a teasing smirk on her face as she saw her sister make her way towards herself and Bonnie. She raised her eyebrows and gave a teasing look as Elena came closer.

"Shut up!" Elena blushed, seeing the look that her sister had on her face.

"I didn't even say anything," Charlotte guffawed.

"Yeah, but you want to," Bonnie replied to Charlotte with a grin of her own. "He's cute Elena." Bonnie wiggled her eyebrows as she said this.

The girls then decided it was time to make their way to Mr. Tanner's history class, Bonnie and Charlotte joking around with one another on the way, while Elena's mind kept wondering to Stefan.

The girls had made it to history and sat down in their seats, waiting for Mr. Tanner to start the lesson.

"So our home state of Virginia joined the..." he trailed off talking about the state history

Charlotte let out a huff and dropped her head onto her desk, already bored of hearing him talk. She felt someone tap her shoulder and turned around to Elena.

"Do you want to come with me to see mom and dad after school?" Elena asked

"Oh. Umm…" Charlotte nodded her head. "Yeah I'll go."

"Thank you." Elena smiled

Soon the bell rang, signaling the end of class and Charlotte realized during the period that no one really cared anymore that her and Elena lost their parents, that everyone had moved past that and they think the girls should too; but they don't seem to realize that it's not as easy as it sounds.

Bonnie made her way to the Gilbert twins shaking and about ready to burst with excitement.

"The new guy was totally checking you out, Elena!" Bonnie practically howled.

"Really?" Elena asked unsure as she tucked some stray hairs behind her ear. "That's…" she stopped short, not really knowing how to respond.

Caroline swiftly made her way over to the girls to join them.

"Wanna meet up at the grill later?" Charlotte asked after being silent since class.

"Sure, just like old times." Bonnie smiled at her.

"Yeah before yours and Elena's parents-" Caroline cut herself off "Charlotte, Elena, I'm so-"

"Care, stop yourself now." Charlotte held her hand up to stop Caroline from saying anything else after seeing the heartbroken look on her sister's face. Even though nothing could ever bring their parents back, it still hurt the girls when people made comments.

She continued to look at Elena while chewing on her bottom still not knowing what to say. Bonnie looked at Charlotte and nodded her head, grabbing Caroline and taking her away from the sisters knowing that they needed a moment alone.

"She doesn't think before she speaks Elena, she doesn't have a sensor," Charlotte said, grabbing her sister's hand and giving it a soft squeeze. "She didn't mean it in a snippy way to hurt us. She didn't realize it would."

"I know," Elena whispered, giving her sister a watery smile.

Grace saw from down the hall that Tyler was making his way towards them, and started walking Elena to the front of the school, "Let's go visit Dad and Mom."

As the twins were making there way into the cemetery, Charlotte noticed some wild flowers growing just before the gate and went and ripped them from the ground, roots and all. Elena laughed and gave her sister a smile, but Charlotte just shrugged her shoulders carelessly.

"Come on Charlie!" Elena called back to her sister, having walked on up ahead of her.

Charlotte looked at the flowers in her hand and let out a sigh. She wasn't even by their graves yet and she could already feel her body aching with grief. The sisters walked past dozens of headstones until they finally reached the ones they we looking for.

Grayson and Miranda Gilbert.

Elena sat down and pulled out her diary before leaning back against the headstone and proceeded to write in her diary. Charlotte sat down next to her and placed her head on her older sister's shoulder, letting out a sigh and began thinking of old memories of her family. She was torn from her thoughts and back into reality when she heard a crow's caw. She lifted her head from Elena's shoulder and looked across from her to see a crow perched on a tombstone.

"Yea, that's not creepy or anything." Elena said closing her diary and finally taking notice to what he sister was looking at. She looked around the cemetery and seen that there was fog forming around them. Charlotte grabbed Elena's hand and pulled them both upright, slightly freaked out.

"Shoo!" she walked over to the crow, waving her hand at it, trying to make it fly away.

Charlotte turned around back to Elena, only to see the same crow now perched on top of her parents' grave. She took a step back, her eyes never leaving the crow. Elena grabbed her bag and then reached forward for Charlotte's hand.

"Let's go, Charlie." She said starting to walk away.

Charlie pulled away and stepped closer to the crow. When she saw that Elena was no where to be seen, she started to walk in the direction she had left in, only stopping once to take a glimpse back to see if the crow was still there, but she was startled to see the outline of a man standing in the fog behind a tombstone.

Soon after Charlotte had found Elena, she was on the ground pulling up her pant leg, and she gasped as she saw the cut on her sister's leg.

"Charlie, really, it's not serious." She pulled her pant leg back down and stood up.

"Thanks for leaving me back there." Charlotte replied glumly.

"Sorry, I freaked and then I ran into the new guy, Stefan, and then he disappeared on me." Elena explained all in one breathe.

Charlotte sighed and shook her head, saying she didn't see him and helped her sister home.

On the way home, Elena proceeded to tell Charlotte all about Stefan; their conversation outside the boy's bathroom, how he's sweet but mysterious, and how smart he is. She laughed and Elena jokingly told her that if he had a brother that Charlotte could have him.

"I don't want to date anybody; hence the reason why I broke up with Tyler." She said.

Elena laughed and gave a bright, teasing smile, "Oh," she said, "That's right, you're in love with the man in your dreams."

Charlotte gave her a look that showed she wasn't impressed.

"It's not funny, I just, I can't describe it! It's so real and it's so magical and Tyler never once made me feel the way I do, than the way this man does when I'm asleep. And just because he's not real and it's just a dream, does not mean that I can't enjoy them." Charlotte finished her speech and took a much needed breath turning away from her sister to go get dressed for the grill.

"You possibly love a man that's not even real, you Charlotte Gilbert, have gone mental!" Elena laughed, smirking up at her sister as she walked up the stairs.

Charlotte was upstairs changing into pants and a t-shirt when she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly grabbed a sweater and slipped on her sandals, then skipped down the stairs.

"Hey Lena," she called out, "You ready to go?" She added, finally reaching the bottom step and noticing that it was Stefan at the door.

"Are you two going somewhere?" he asked, catching a breath of her scent, and turned his head away to get himself back under control.

"We're meeting some friends at the grill. You wanna come?" She invited him. He nodded and the three of us walked out of the house and went on our way.

The trio walked into the packed Mystic Grille. And as soon as Charlotte saw Bonnie and Caroline she made a bee-line for the table. As she sat down, she heard Matt huff out the words 'more time'. Elena and Stefan soon joined them at the table, and then the interrogation began.

"So you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline questioned.

"And I moved when I was still young." Stefan informed the girls.

"Parents?" Bonnie asked.

"They passed away." Stefan replied mournfully.

"Just like Charlie and Elena!" Caroline exclaimed before shaking her head side to side.

Charlotte couldn't understand why her best friend didn't think before she spoke.

"Caroline." Bonnie scolded.

"You and Charlotte lost your parents?" Stefan looked towards the two brunettes.

"Yeah," Elena nodded. "Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to," He answered.

"So, anyway, Stefan there is the huge party tomorrow." Caroline informed him

"It's a back to school thing at the Falls," Bonnie shrugged

"Will you be there?" Stefan looked at Elena

"Of course she will." Charlotte answered for her sister.

Elena giggled slightly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear nervously; Charlotte smiled at seeing her sister so happy, before looking up to see Stefan watching Elena too. Soon after, everyone dispersed and went home.

"Soooo, you and Stefan, huh?" Charlotte teased out to her sister with a smile on her face. Elena's cheeks blushed red and she gave her sister a soft push as a way to tell her to shut up and they talked before leaving the company of each other to prepare for bed. Not long after, both girls found themselves in a deep sleep.

_She waited for some time to make sure that everyone was asleep before she ventured out of her home and made her way through the forest till she reached the edge that lead down to the clearing. Charlotte looked up at the night sky, littered with bright twinkling stars and the large, glowing moon that would in a few days be full. The night was silent and just the way she liked it; left to her thoughts in peace._

_But peace didn't last long when she heard a twig snap from in the trees beside her. Her breath caught in her throat as he stepped out from between the trees, the moon light shining brightly against his skin._

"_You shouldn't be out here, you could get hurt." He called to her._

"_You followed me?" she replied._

_He kept stepping towards her until they were just barely touching. He raised his hands to her face, cupping her cheeks, and tilting her head up so he could gaze into her hazel orbs that seemed to be glowing in the moonlit night. However he didn't respond to her question, and just placed a gentle and sweet kiss upon her plump lips. He turned her so her back was pressed up against him and they looked up at the moon together._

_She tipped her head back to rest upon his shoulder, and felt his lips and warm breath against the shell of her ear. _

"_Should we ever be separated, just look up at the moon and know that I am looking at the same one every night, thinking of you, dreaming of you. Where ever you are, no matter how far, I'll be there to protect you, to guard you."_

_Charlotte felt tears spring to her eyes as she heard him whisper these words to her. The man turned her around and wrapped his arms tightly around her, _

"_Anytime you feel alone, just close your eyes and dream of where I am, of our love. I am always there sweetheart. Dance with me?" He asked._

_And there the young lovers stood, no music playing, looking at each other with so much love in their eyes that any onlookers heart would burst from. _

_And she heard him whisper the words she would hear him say for the last time,_

"_I love you"_

Charlotte quickly came out of sleep, her heart thumping loudly and fiercely from within her chest. Over time the dreams that she had been having started seeming less like dreams and more like memories. She quietly got out of bed and made her way towards the window bench. Sitting down, she gazed up at the moon, so similar to the one from her dreams, and she did the only thing she could think of doing. She closed her eyes as tears started rolling down her cheeks, and she thoughts of her dreams, of the man in them, of what she felt. And in all of Charlotte's life, she had never felt so alone in that moment, and as she gently leaned back against the wall and slowly began to fall asleep again, she was blissfully unaware that there was a man, feeling what she was feeling, staring up at the same moon.

Charlotte woke up to the blaring of her alarm, groaning at the back ache she was feeling from sleeping on the window bench. She took a quick shower and dressed for school in a pair of dark jeans, striped tee, and her tan leather jacket. She grabbed her nude colored heels and rushed out the door with Elena to drive them to school.

They finally arrived in History class. Charlotte spent her time doodling odd little figurines in her notebook while she and Elena spoke quietly about the party that was going on at the Falls tonight.

"The Battle of Willow Creek." Mr. Tanner started, "took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls, how many casualties resulted in this battle?" He questioned looking around the room stopping on Charlotte. "Miss. Gilbert, as a Founding Family Member they should have filled you in on this knowledge."

Charlotte developed a blank look on her face, having not been paying attention, and before Mr. Tanner could say something rude to her,

"Well you see Mr. Tanner, suddenly I'm not American anymore!" She exclaimed in a British accent, smirking at the history teacher. He gave her a hard stare.

"Fine, Miss. Bennett."

Bonnie looked up surprised

"A lot?" She tilted her head "I'm not sure like a whole lot?"

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss. Bennett, you'll do good to learn that from your friend Charlotte." He glanced at her

"Did he just call me dumb?" Bonnie looked around appalled.

Mr. Tanner looked around the room again this time stopping on Matt.

"Mr. Donovan, would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your imbedded Jock stereotype?"

"That's ok, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it." Matt nodded.

Everyone laughed and Mr. Tanner rolled his eyes glancing around the room again, looking for another victim.

"Elena." he stopped at her "Would you like to enlighten your _British_ sister here on the History of our small town?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, I... I don't know." Elena admitted honestly.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, but the personal excuses ended with summer break." He growled in response.

"There were three hundred and thirty-six casualties." Stefan's voice called out saving everyone from torture "Unless you're counting local civilians."

"That's correct." Mr. Tanner replied "Mr...?"

"Salvatore." Stefan replied.

"Salvatore, Any relations to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?" Mr. Tanner questioned.

"Distant." Stefan replied.

"Well very good." Mr. Tanner approved, "except there were no civilian causalities in this battle."

"Actually there was." Stefan replied "There were twenty-seven, confederate soldiers fired on a church believing it to be housing weapons." Stefan added, "it was a night of great loss." he looked down.

"The Founders Archives are stored in Civil Hall if you'd like you brush up on your facts." Stefan finished.

As they all left class the girls had all promised to meet up at the party later. And each made there way home.

Charlotte was sitting in her room skimming through magazines when Elena walked in. Elena looked at her sister, wondering why she wasn't getting changed. Her sister noticed her look and told her that she was just gonna change her shoes. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, until Elena broke it.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" she casually asked.

"What's up?"

Elena quickly ran to her room to grab her clothes for the night and returned to her sister's room to get dressed.

"What do you think of Stefan?" she asked, pulling on her jeans.

"I don't really have an opinion, I don't know much about him to form one yet. But from what I can see he likes you." Charlotte replied, not really paying that much attention, her mind was too busy wondering about the dream she had the night before.

Elena however failed to notice her sister's lack of enthusiasm.

"Really?" Elena giggled, "You really think so?"

"Sure." Charlotte decided she'd overanalyze the dream later and threw the magazine she was holding in her hand to the side, and got up from the bed. "You excited for the party tonight?"

Elena just gave her sister a knowing smile.

Elena and Charlotte had just arrived at the party and the woods were crawling with high school kids ready for a good night. The sisters quickly found Bonnie and began to make the most of their night.

"Just admit it Elena." Charlotte said to her sister.

"Okay, so he is a little pretty." Elena said blushing slightly.

"He has that romance novel stare." Bonnie added in.

"So where is he?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know. You tell me you're the psychic one." Elena said shrugging.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Okay, so give me a sec, Gram says I have to concentrate." Bonnie said smiling and closing her eyes.

"Wait you need a crystal ball." Charlotte said giggling.

"Um, how about this?" Elena asked grabbing a beer bottle off the ground.

"Perfect." Charlotte said clapping her hands.

Bonnie touched it and then she zoned out. Her face became scared and worried and then she suddenly pulled her hand away.

"That was weird. When I touched it I saw a crow." Bonnie said staring wide eyed.

"What?" Charlotte asked slightly scared, she looked over to Elena who seemed to have the same reaction.

"A crow, there was fog, and a man." She stopped because she saw the scared expressions on Charlie's and Elena's faces. "I'm drunk, nothing psychic about it, yea okay. I'm gonna get a refill." She said walking over to the cooler.

Elena and Charlotte couldn't find words to speak.

When they turned around, there stood Stefan. "Hey." He said smiling at Elena.

"Hi." Elena said with her flirty face on, Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Well, I am going to find Jeremy." she said walking away.

Charlotte found Jeremy sitting on a log watching Vicki and Tyler sneaking off together. She walked over to him and grabbed his beer and took a swig of it.

"Sorry I needed that." she said laughing.

"Don't worry, I do too. Why do you think I have it?" He asked. She just shrugged.

"I miss you Jer." she said after a few minutes of silence.

Jeremy just chuckled, rolling his eyes and taking another drink.

"Admit it! You miss me too!" Charlie said laughing, and punched him lightly in the arm.

"I miss hanging out with you too Charlie." He finally replied.

Charlie just smiled. A few minutes passed when Jeremy stood up and gently squeezed her arm. She watched as her brother got up and made his way into the woods. She was about to go find Bonnie when she heard Tyler's voice from the trees,

"You're starting to get on my nerves Gilbert!"

Charlotte immediately changed her course of direction, and walked into the woods. Just a few trees in and she saw Jeremy, Vicki, and Tyler all in an argument.

"Vicki Donovan says no. That's a first." Tyler said, then he saw Charlotte and she saw just an indication of grief in his eyes, but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. Instead of arguing anymore, he just went back to the party. Vicki soon stormed off and she walked over to her brother.

"Jer, everything will turn out right in the end; you'll get the girl." Charlotte said hugging him. She could tell he needed that. She felt him nod slightly. They made their way back to the fire and sat on a log.

A few minutes had passed before Jeremy spoke again.

"Where is she?" he asked Charlotte, after he realized Vicki still hadn't returned to the party.

"I don't know Jer, I'm sure she's fine." she replied back, starting to get concerned herself.

"I'm going to look for her." He said standing up.

"I'll go with you." Charlotte said, not wanting him to go out into the woods alone. But before she walked away she overheard Elena.

"Jeremy! Charlotte!" She called in an annoyed tone. Jeremy decided to ignore her.

"Jeremy, Charlotte! Where the hell are you two going?" She asked.

"Were looking for Vicki, she hasn't come back yet. We're going to find her." Charlotte finally replied.

That's when she turned back around to see Jeremy trip over something. She looked down to see what it was but Jeremy answered more rapidly.

"Vicki?" Jeremy said softly.

"Oh my god, it's Vicki." He said turning back to Charlotte and Elena.

"Oh my god." Elena whispered. Charlotte was still silent.

Jeremy crawled back over her and tried to feel for a pulse but Vicki sat halfway up gasping. They knew she was fine for now.

"Somebody Help!" Charlotte yelled finally finding her voice as Elena, Jeremy and her carried Vicki out of the woods. She looked across the area to see Matt come running towards them.

"What happened?" Someone asked from the crowd.

"Call an ambulance!" Matt yelled. She noticed Tyler also there, trying to keep everyone back.

"Everyone get back! Give her some space!" Tyler yelled.

"Something bit her she is losing a lot of blood." Elena said, freaking out. Charlotte looked up to see Stefan staring in shock and then he slowly backed up leaving the party area.

**A/N:**

Fixed spelling and grammar errors of this chapter!


	3. Chapter 2: Night of the Comet

Chapter 2: The Night of the Comet

"_Elijah, please, you must tell me more!" Charlotte begged, her arm linked through the mans, as they took a walk through the garden._

"_I do not think Niklaus would like me to tell you these horror stories." He responded, only to look down and see her hazel eyes shining up at him with a pout on her face._

_Charlotte unlooped her arm from his and crossed both of her arms over her chest. She then stuck her chin in the air and turned away from him. Elijah gave a gentle sigh and turned her back to face him, carefully, he grabbed her chin, tilting her head up so he could look upon her face._

"_Just spoil me this once" she said batting her lashes and putting the most disappointed look on her face that she was able to muster at the moment._

_"He does not need to know, I will never speak of this again if you just tell me now!" she exclaimed._

_Elijah had to laugh at how animated of an expression she was giving. He looked over her shoulder, and she became confused when she saw his face turn even more amused. But her confusion was short lived as she was soon startled by the strong arms that snuggly wrapped around her waist._

"_Really sweetheart, you think you can keep something from me?" Charlotte heard a teasing voice speak into her ear._

"_Niklaus," she whined and attempted to worm her way out of his arms. She gave Elijah a look, signaling him to help her._

_Elijah chuckled and turned his back on the duo, walking away._

_"Sorry my darling girl, but I cannot help you out of this one." she huffed at this and Niklaus chuckled._

"_Niklaus, must you always ruin everything? I've suddenly become bored since your arrival." Charlotte teased._

"_How about we play catch?"_

_Charlotte was quick to protest, knowing that the he never played fair, but as Niklaus noticed the look on her face, he was quick to cut her off._

"_I'll give you a head start love." He released her tenderly, giving her a light push forward to be ahead of him._

_"You're being serious?" she asked turning around, a questioning look on her face._

"_I'll count to one hundred. __You better scurry along now sweetheart." Niklaus announced, a soft smile displayed on his face as he tucked a stray hair behind her ear._

_Charlotte turned her back picking up her skirts, making flight towards the towering trees that made up the forest._

Unlike the previous nights, Charlotte wasn't startled by this dream. She slowly crawled out of bed as her alarm blared loudly throughout her bedroom. Her mind wondering back to the night before, concerned of how Vicki was doing. After they had arrived home, she hastily made her way to take a shower and readied her self for bed; but not before noticing that Stefan had reappeared from the party at her front door for Elena.

Charlotte got changed for the day in a white v- neck t-shirt tucked into a navy pleated skirt. She put on her wedges and made her way out of the room to go downstairs and grab her jacket.

As she was walking out of her room, she was stopped by Jenna.

"Do I look adult?" She asked motioning to her purple dress,

"Seen as prenatally respected?"

"Depends on where you're going." Elena called from behind Charlotte. Charlotte turned and saw her sister standing there looking Jenna up and down.

"Jeremy's parent teacher conference," Jenna said walking to the mirror hanging in the hall. Grabbing her hair and pulling it to the top of her head.

"Hair up? Or down?" She asked, looking back over to the sisters.

"Up, sexy stewardess," Charlotte said waving her hand to her aunt holding the hair on top of her head. Jenna then dropped it and let it fall down to her shoulders.

"Down, boozy housewife," Elena said grinning.

Aunt Jenna scoffed quietly.

"Up it is." She determined.

Elena and Charlotte exchanged glances and laughed. Jenna was still staring at herself in the mirror and Charlotte decided to walk behind her with Elena following her every step.

"Where is Jeremy?" Charlotte pondered, asking her aunt and sister, having not yet seen her brother this morning.

"He left early, something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse." As soon as Jenna said that Charlotte knew that Jeremy was anywhere else other than school.

"There is no wood shop is there?" Jenna asked dropping her shoulders and looking fooled once she noticed the look that crossed the Gilbert twins faces.

"No." Elena and Charlotte said simultaneously shaking their heads.

School that day was uneventful. Mr. Tanner had spent the class talking about the comet that would be passing over Mystic Falls tomorrow, that hadn't been around in over 145 years. After class Charlotte decided to spend some time with Caroline and Bonnie because Elena was with Stefan.

"Are you psychic, or clairvoyant?" Caroline asked Bonnie as the trio of girls was walking.

"Technically Grams says she's a witch." Charlotte said smiling, pleased that for once, she knew something Caroline didn't.

"She says our ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something." Bonnie said giving a condescending looking smile. She then continued to speak, shaking her head disbelievingly, "Grams tried to explain it all but she was looped on the liquor so I turned out. Crazy family, yes. Witches, I don't think so."

"Yea, well feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night." Caroline said smiling into space.

"What guy?" Charlotte questioned her friend with a confused look on her face. But her question was ignored.

"I didn't see him, you did." Bonnie said smiling at Caroline.

"What guy?" Charlotte decided to ask again but more loudly.

"Oh, just this totally hot guy who was staring at me; he had dark hair blue eyes and a hot smirk!" Caroline said smiling at her memories. Charlotte rolled her eyes. Caroline was always after a guy.

"Well, why didn't you just talk to him?" Bonnie asked slightly confused. Caroline shrugged.

"I don't know. I was drunk!" She said walking away laughing.

Charlotte and Bonnie giggled at Caroline's reply and walked faster to catch up. But Charlotte quickly excused herself once she saw her sister talking to Matt, wanting to know how Vicki was.

"Hey Matt, Lena, wait up!" She called out running over to them. They stopped and waited for her to catch up and once she did, they all presumed walking.

"Well, they're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection. But she should be able to come home tomorrow." Matt said when the girls asked how his sister was doing.

"That's good news." Elena said looking over to Matt.

"Yea." Matt responded.

"So did you get in touch with your mom?" Charlotte asked Matt.

"Called and left a message, she's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend. So we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home." Matt said sighing at the end. Charlotte frowned, seeing the disheartened look on her friend's face, and gave his arm a soft squeeze.

"Vicki's lucky she's okay." Elena added in.

"I know, now there's talk about missing campers." Matt said in a relieved tone about Vicki still being alive.

"Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?" Charlotte asked breaking the short silence.

"She said it was a vampire." Matt said looking confused at Elena and Charlotte.

"What? Like fangs and drinking blood?" Charlie asked trying to hold back her laughter.

"Yea, she wakes up last night and mutters vampire and passes out." Matt responded.

"Okay, that's weird." Elena said laughing.

"I think she was drunk." Matt stated, he pursed his lips and then turned to Elena.

"What's up with you and the new guy?" He asked Elena.

"Matt the last thing I want to do is hurt you." Elena said looking at him totally serious.

"You know, I think I am going to go back to the hospital. Be there when Vicki wakes up and get the whole story about last night." Matt said looking at Elena misery overcoming his expression.

"Ok." Elena whispered weakly.

"Bye Charlie." He said.

"Bye Matty." she responded, concern in her eyes as she turned back to Elena.

"Well that was agonizing to watch," Charlotte started, but stopped seeing the look her sister was throwing her way.

Elena turned to look at Stefan. He was sitting on the picnic table a few moments ago. But when they turned he wasn't there anymore.

Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, and Charlotte were all sitting outside the Mystic Grill drinking coffee when Bonnie began to speak.

"I was talking to Grams, and she said it's a sign. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls there was a lot of death. So much blood and carnage created a bed of paranormal activity." Bonnie said looking at all of them.

"Yea, and then you poured grams another shot. And she told you about the aliens." Caroline said sarcastically. Charlotte gave her a look of disbelief right after she said that.

"So, then what?" Caroline continued turning to look at Elena, ignoring the look her friend had just given her.

"So then nothing." Elena said looking away from her coffee to Caroline.

"You and Stefan _talked_all night. There was no sloppy first kiss, or touchy feely of any kind?" Caroline asked looking at Elena not believing that she and Stefan didn't do anything.

"We didn't go there." Elena said shaking her head looking down at the paper she was folding.

"Not even a handshake?" Caroline asked with hope behind what she was saying.

"I mean Elena we are your friends, ok, you are supposed to share this info." Caroline said getting annoyed.

"We just talk for hours." Elena said defeated.

"What is with the blockage? Jump his bones already!" When Caroline said this, Bonnie and Charlie looked disgusted.

"Okay, it's easy. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Sex." Caroline finished her statement with a smirk at the end.

"Um, there are other people here too. Who don't want to talk about their sister jumping Stefan's bones," Charlotte said in disgust, Caroline always was out in the open about talking about this stuff.

"Sorry." Caroline mumbled annoyed.

That's when Elena turned halfway around in her chair and grabbed her jacket standing up. "Come on Charlie." She said smiling. Charlotte gave her sister a confused look,

"Where are we going?" she asked her also standing up.

"Caroline's right, it is easy and if I sit here long enough I will end up talking myself out of it than doing what I started the day out saying that I was gonna do." Elena said grinning at Caroline and Bonnie and then her eyes flickered to Charlie.

"Why did I have to come again?" Charlotte asked annoyed, getting out of the car.

"Because, one I drove you. And two, if things don't work out you'll be here with me." Elena said in a matter of fact tone, which made Charlotte roll her eyes and slam the passenger side of the car closed.

They walked up the steps of Stefan's house and looked around the porch and saw the huge door. Charlotte walked up to it and saw a knocker. She knocked a few times and then the door pushed open.

Elena signaled for her to step inside, and so she did, Elena not far behind her. Stefan's house was huge; it looked more like a museum than an actual house. She looked around a corner but was too frightened to walk down alone.

"Stefan?" Elena called. Charlotte looked back to see her sister observing the large old house. The duo walked into the center of the doorway which opened up into a living area.

Charlotte heard the door creak from behind, Elena must have too because she turned around slowly like her sister. Both were startled when they saw a large black crow fly in. Charlotte let out a breath and turned around and came face to face with a beautiful man she had never seen around before. He had dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He skewed his head, and then smirked at Charlie, and then his eyes flickered to Elena.

"We're sorry for barging in the door was . . . open." She said turning around and looking at the now closed door.

"Yea, we're sorry." Elena repeated, looking apologetic. The beautiful man turned to Elena.

"You must be Elena." He said to Elena.

"I'm Damon, Stefan's brother." He said directing towards both the girls.

"Um, Elena never told me Stefan had a brother." Charlotte said, smiling questioningly, turning her head to look at her sister.

"Well Stefan's not one to brag, so she probably didn't know." Damon said smirking.

"Please come in. And you are?" He asked.

"Charlie." She answered. He nodded and gave a knowing smirk.

"I'm sure Stefan will be along any second." Damon said leading Elena and Charlotte farther into the boarding house.

"Wow. This is your living room?" Elena asked in astonishment.

"Living room, parlor, 70's action. It's a little kitschy for my taste." Damon replied smirking, staring at her.

"I see why my brothers so smitten." Damon said looking at Elena.

"It's about time, for a while there I never thought he would get over the last one; nearly destroyed him." Damon said sighing at the end. Charlotte shot him a glare. She knew after he said that, he would get Elena worried.

"The last one?" Elena questioned.

"Yea, Katherine. His girlfriend," Damon said confused. Elena shook her head slightly.

"Oh, you two haven't had the awkward ex's conversation yet?" Damon asked.

"Nope," Elena said, pursing her lips.

"Oops. Well I'm sure it will come up now." Damon replied smirking.

"Or, maybe he didn't want to tell you to make you think he was on the rebound." Damon said his eyes staring into Elena's. "We all know how those relationships end."

Charlotte stood off to the side appalled at what Damon was saying, knowing he was trying to plant doubt into her sister's head.

"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end." She said.

"Hello Stefan." Damon said not bothering to turn around. Elena and Charlotte snapped around quickly as Damon slowly turned to face his brother.

"Elena, Charlie. I didn't know you were coming over." Stefan replied glaring at Damon who was grinning wolfishly.

"I know, we should have called. . ." Charlotte began; she was going to blame Elena, but was cut off by Damon.

"Oh don't be silly, you're _both_welcome anytime. Aren't they Stefan?" Damon asked smirking wildly. Stefan glared at Damon, it seemed as though they were having a silent conversation of their own.

"You know, I should bring out the family photo albums. Or some home movies, but I have to warn you he wasn't always such a looker." Damon said to Elena. Elena smiled in response.

"Thank you for stopping by." Stefan said his gaze going back to Damon. "It was nice to see you both."

"Yea, we should probably go." Elena said looking at Charlotte with an awkward gaze, which she returned.

"Yea, it was nice meeting you Damon." Charlotte said turning to Damon.

"Great meeting you too, Charlie," He said grabbing her hand and kissing it.

"Yes, nice meeting you Damon," Elena said turning away, but Damon caught her hand and kissed it as well.

"See you around." Damon said letting go of Elena's hand. Elena walked past Damon and in front of Stefan.

"Stefan?" She asked him looking up trying to meet his gaze but it was on Damon.

Stefan moved out of the sisters' way, and let them through. Charlotte turned around one last time before she shut the door and saw Damon smirk at her and then return his gaze to Stefan. Charlotte had a feeling that that wouldn't be the last of Damon Salvatore.

Charlotte was in the kitchen with her Aunt Jenna and Elena, talking about guys and the issues they had. After Elena finished pouring chocolate sauce on her sundae, Charlotte took it and squeezed it straight in her mouth, giving her sister a sheepish shrug once done.

"He's on the rebound and he has major family issues." Elena explained grabbing the sauce back from her sister.

"At least it's a girlfriend." Jenna explained

"You know what the worst is? Mommy issues. Carol Lockwood was enough to make anyone go insane!" Charlotte exclaimed licking the left over chocolate from her lips.

"Tell me about it!" Jenna cried out laughing kindly, "or cheating issues."

"Humph, I've never had a cheater." Charlotte replied with a tilt to her head.

"Not the best." Jenna replied sarcastically chomping into an apple.

"But you should be happy; at least your men actually exist. Mine just comes to me in dreams!" Charlotte said, giving pointed looks to both her aunt and sister. But before either could give her a reply the front door opened and slammed shut.

"Jeremy." Aunt Jenna called out sternly. Jeremy just ignored her and continued to walk upstairs. Jenna decided to follow him, and both sisters followed after. If she couldn't get through to him, maybe one of them could.

"Jeremy," Jenna's voice said getting angrier. "Where were you?"

"More stoner stories Aunt Jenna, I get it. You were cool once and that's . . . that's cool." Jeremy said giving Aunt Jenna a thumbs up. He sounded so out of it, it made Charlotte's heart break. How could he do this to himself?

"Oh no! No! No!" Jenna said throwing the apple in her hand at Jeremy's back.

"Ow. Why?" Jeremy asked turning around. "Why? Why? Did you do that?" He asked her.

"Listen up. Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion." Jenna said putting authority into her words.

"Parental authority, I like it." Jeremy said giving Jenna another thumbs up.

"Sleep tight." He added, turning back to go upstairs. Jenna was frustrated and let out a sigh. Charlotte decided that talking to him when he was like this would do no good, so instead headed back into the kitchen.

The next night, was the night of the comet. Charlotte decided to go to the Mystic Grille for some time alone, only to see Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, Jeremy, and Tyler talking when she walked in. She knew that Jeremy and Tyler didn't get along and decided to put aside her feelings for Tyler and go over and talk to them.

When she walked over she heard Tyler already running his mouth,

"You're the stalker you tell us." he said, obviously to Jeremy.

"I can't find her." Jeremy responded worry in his tone.

"She probably found someone else to party with. Sorry pill pusher you're replaced." Tyler said in a cocky tone.

"What's with the pill pusher?" Charlotte growled at Tyler, finally making her presence known. He saw that it was her that had spoke and didn't know how to respond,

"Ask him." He said tilting his head towards Jeremy.

"You want to do this right now?" Jeremy asked getting angrier by the second.

"Are you dealing?" Elena asked Jeremy, her tone upset.

"She's never gonna go for you." Tyler said from behind Charlotte, she turned halfway and shot him a glare. No matter what Jeremy did, he was still her brother.

"She already did." Jeremy replied eying Tyler, "Over, and over, and over again."

"Yea right." Tyler mumbled in disbelief.

"You slept with Vicki Donovan? I mean Vicki Donovan slept with you?" Caroline asked holding back giggles.

"There's no way." Tyler responded.

"And I didn't even have to force her into it." Jeremy said glaring at Tyler. Matt stepped up from the crowed and walked closer to Tyler.

"What the hell is he talking about Ty?" Matt asked.

"Nothing, man just ignore him he's a punk." Tyler responded to Matt.

"You know what? How about all of you shut up? And help me find my sister." Matt said, glaring at all of his friends.

"I'll check the back." Bonnie said.

"I'll check the square." Matt said, Jeremy's head snapped up.

"I'll come with you." Jeremy responded to Matt.

"Uh, no, no, no. You are coming with us." Elena said grabbing Jeremy's arm.

"So that's your game now dealing?" Elena asked Jeremy. Charlotte gaze hardened at her sister to shut up before they pushed him away even more.

"I'm not dealing." Jeremy protested.

"Look I'm sick of the tough love speech; it's clearly not having any impact." Elena said.

"You and Jenna! Between the two of you it's enough. Charlotte is the only one who doesn't pester me; she's the only one that helps me!" He shouted.

Elena's eyes flickered to Charlotte..

"We can sit down if you want? Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it. Or to rehab where you'll sit in group and tell some stranger about how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me . . . us, because Charlotte wants you to get better, too." Elena said still looking into his eyes.

Jeremy's eyes went down to the ground and then back up.

"I vote for none of the above." He replied and walked away leaving his sister's speechless.

Later that night, Charlotte was walking upstairs to put get ready for bed when she saw an outline in Jeremy's room. She walked over to the doorway, hoping that she could have a talk with him.

"Jer?" she called.

"No, it's me." Aunt Jenna said standing up and looking at her.

"The hypocrite patrol." she added.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte asked slightly confused.

"I have become my worst nightmare; the authority figure that has to violate a fifteen year old's privacy." She said walking over to clothes on the ground. She bent down and started searching through them.

"Jackpot," She said.

"I see the hiding places haven't gotten more creative." She added, holding up a large brown boot.

Charlotte walked slowly into the room, walking over to her brother's bed and sat down.

"What brought this on?" she asked crossing my legs.

"Your ass had of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday." Jenna said looking through Jeremy's dresser.

"You got Tannered. Been there," Charlotte stated chuckling at the end.

"Discover the impossible Ms. Sommers. Thanks. Like I didn't know I was screwing up." Jenna said grief filling her voice and face.

"You're not screwing up. . . I would tell you." Charlotte said, giving a soft smile at the end.

"Yes, I am. And you know why? Because I'm not her," Aunt Jenna said her eyes watering with tears.

"She made everything look so easy; high school, marriage, having you." She said pointing to Charlotte. All Charlotte could do was sit there and she felt horrible that she had no way to comfort her aunt.

"I can't do it. I'm going to say or do the wrong thing and he's gonna get worse and it's going to be _my_fault." Jenna said stressing. Jenna walked in front of Charlotte and sat down on chair.

"It's impossible." She said like it was a basic fact.

"This is just the fear talking, your scared is all. We all are, Elena, Jeremy, me, you," Charlotte told her, looking at her sympathetically.

She sent her niece a small smile of relief.

"Thank you." She said to her.

"You're welcome." And with that said Charlotte walked out of Jeremy's room and into her own preparing herself for bed.

* * *

**A/N:**

I'm going to try to get season 1 out of the way by next week so Klaus appears soon :)

Outfit link on profile.


	4. Chapter 3: Friday Night Bites Pt1

Chapter 3: Friday Night Bites Pt.1

Charlotte woke the next morning for school feeling well rested. She hadn't had a dream last night. She blinked, clearing her hazy vision and rubbed her fingers against her eyes. Once she could finally visibly see, she glanced at the alarm on her bedside table and saw she had time for a shower before school. Charlotte climbed out of bed, and threw her sheets and blankets back to semi make her bed and walked over to her closet.

After rummaging around for a few minutes, she found what she wanted to wear for the day and tossed it on her bed. She then made her way out of her room and padded barefoot to the bathroom to get clean. Stepping out of her bed clothes, she got under the warm spray of the shower head, washing her sleepiness away. After scrubbing her body and washing her hair, she shut the water off and stepped out, wrapping a fluffy towel around her body.

After drying her hair as well as she could with the towel, Charlotte dressed in a white tank tucked into a pair of high waist light wash jean shorts. She slid her skinny belt through the loops, and slipped on her oversized coral blazer, along with her taupe colored platform ankle boots. After Charlotte was sure she had everything, she made her way downstairs to her sister, where they both waited for Bonnie to arrive.

"When Bonnie gets here, I have to tell you both something!" Elena exclaimed with a bright smile on her face. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Charlotte heard Bonnie pull up in front of the Gilbert house.

The girls quickly made their way out to the car and slid in.

"Morning," Elena was giggling with secrecy

"So… you wanted to tell the both of us something?" Charlotte asked her sister while Bonnie just looked at her confused.

"I kissed Stefan!" Elena just about burst with enthusiasm

Bonnie and Charlotte exchanged a look, while Charlotte was genuinely happy for her sister; Bonnie had to pretend to be. When they pulled into a parking space at school, the girls exited the car, although now, Elena lacked the enthusiasm she had just minutes before because of the looks that were gracing her sister and best friend's faces.

"Listen, I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying take it slow." Bonnie stated, eying Elena.

This whole conversation got started because Elena wouldn't shut up about Stefan. And Bonnie and Charlotte started to think Elena was moving a little fast.

"Yea, that's all Lena nothing personal to him or you. It's just that you've known him for what? Five days? I mean let's be honest, what do you even really know about the guy?" Charlotte asked her sister, tightening her grip on the bag that was resting on her shoulder.

"Bonnie you were the one who said to go for it. And you Charlie, you came with me so I could make a move." She stated, Charlotte gave her a severe look and then looked back over to Bonnie.

"Now, I'm saying take it slow," Bonnie said walking away from her car and towards the school.

"Why the about face?" Elena asked Charlotte.

"It's not an about face. You're single for the first time in your _entire_high school career; it's a perfect time to play the field." She answered shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh. . . Cause I'm so _that_girl. . . And take your own advice; this is the _first_time you've been single since freshman year. Come on Charlie, play the field!" Elena mocked her sister, looking up into the air smiling. Charlotte playfully glared at her.

"Don't change the subject Lena. Besides the both of you know that I'm already taken," she said in a joking manner.

The two girls burst out laughing at Charlotte's response; knowing that she was referring to the dreams she was having and that they had been continuously teasing her about them since they had found out.

Elena finally stopped laughing and returned to the subject of Stefan.

"Seriously what are you not saying?" She asked Bonnie, still smiling.

"It's stupid." Bonnie replied starting to walk faster, as if to make a break from Elena so she wouldn't have to answer. But she didn't make it far, as Elena sped up as well and grabbed for her arm to stop her.

"Bonnie," Elena said, turning the girl so she could look at her. "Spit it out,"

Charlotte just stood there listening and waiting to hear what Bonnie had to say.

"I accidentally touched Stefan, and I got a really bad feeling." Bonnie replied shrugging her shoulders. Elena crossed her arms and looked slightly confused, and Charlotte tilted her head slightly, an unreadable look coming across her face as she remembered the feeling she got when she first shook Stefan's hand.

"Is that it?" Elena said, slightly sarcastic, pulling Charlotte from her thoughts. Bonnie attempted to walk away yet again, but this time Charlotte grabbed her arm.

"Bonnie." She said, making her voice sound persuasive, so that Bonnie would go into further detail.

"It was bad **bad.**" Bonnie replied trying to stress the bads. Charlotte stared at her slightly concerned and confused, wanting to tell her she felt something too, but Elena just giggled.

"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?" Elena asked, staring at Bonnie playfully.

"No, I'm just concerned." Bonnie said finally breaking a smile onto her face.

Charlotte decided she'd ask Bonnie later and just smiled at her friend's expression.

"I'm just expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend." Bonnie said.

Charlotte looked at her with a fake hurt expression. She cleared her throat and Bonnie and Elena giggled.

"And if there was a way I could delve into your dreams and meet this mystery man of yours, I would give him a piece of my mind, too. And maybe I'd figure out his name for you as well, seeing as you never remember when you wake up." Bonnie teased, making Charlotte place a mock angry look on her features.

The trio of girls laughed and Elena decided to continue,

"And I love you for it!" she said to Bonnie, grabbing both of her shoulders.

"I do, but I feel good. It's been a hard year, and I'm starting to kinda feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what; Stefan is a big part of that." Elena stated looking back and fourth between Bonnie and her sister. Bonnie and Charlotte looked at each other and nodded before looking back to Elena. But both girls shared another look as they saw Stefan coming up to them.

"Morning Elena," Stefan said her.

"Morning Bonnie," Stefan continued turning to Bonnie.

"And morning to you too Charlie." Stefan said smiling at all of them. He then turned his attention back to Elena.

"Hey, um we gotta find Caroline she isn't answering her phone." Bonnie said to Charlotte, softly grabbing her arm and beginning to walk away. Charlotte turned half way around and shot her sister an apologetic look.

"Bonnie, Charlie wait." She heard Elena's protests. But decided to continue and walk with Bonnie.

They were walking towards the school when Charlotte saw Tyler and Matt standing together. Even though they had broken up, she still missed having him around as a friend. They used to have a lot of fun together, so Charlotte decided to make her way over to the duo and talk.

"Look there's Elena and her new boyfriend." Tyler said eying Elena and Stefan across the quad. Matt caught the football that was thrown to him and then turned to look. He looked quickly and then away looking back at Tyler.

"What are they doing? Oh, their walking, walking, walking. Yep, right into the sunset." Tyler said. Matt looked at Elena and Stefan again and then turned back to Tyler.

"Dick." he replied.

"Well your just standing there looking like one of those little yard trolls." Tyler said glancing at Matt.

"Gnomes. And at least my ex broke up with me because she needed time and not because I was being a dick." Matt corrected and stated. Tyler looked shocked that Matt said that and then glared. He looked around and noticed Charlotte walking over to them; his eyes fell to the ground and back to Matt.

"Hey." she called to Tyler and Matt.

"Yea, what do _you_want?" Tyler asked annoyed. Charlotte almost didn't respond because she was somewhat hurt by the tone of Tyler's voice.

"I wanted to talk, you know, we did use to be _friends._" She said stressing the word _friends,__ trying to get the point across to Tyler__._

"Well maybe I don't want to be friends." Tyler said turning and walking away from her. Charlotte knew that when he said he didn't want to be _friends._He wanted to be more. She just let out disappointed sigh, hurt that he didn't want anything to do with her anymore.

She turned to make her way back to Bonnie who stood there waiting for her and trying to call Caroline.

"Let's go." She said to her, and Bonnie nodded and followed behind her.

She turned one last time to see Stefan throwing a football to Tyler. It spiraled perfectly through the air and as Tyler caught it, it knocked him back a few steps from the power the throw held. Charlotte glanced at Stefan and knew there was something strange about him. She decided she would do some digging later and quickly made haste to catch up with Bonnie.

The day passed quickly and soon Charlotte and Elena found themselves making their way to cheerleading practice even though it was something the girls just didn't enjoy doing anymore.

"Oh my god! You're both here!" Bonnie exclaimed jumping up and hugging the Gilbert twins, making them both smile and giggle.

"Yep, we can't be sad girls forever." Elena said answering for the both of them. The girls then sat down and started stretching.

"Oh, and your coming to dinner tonight," Elena said to Bonnie, effectively breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over the group.

"I am?" Bonnie asked half excited.

"Yep you, me, Charlie, and _Stefan._" Elena said smiling. As soon as Stefan's name crossed Elena's lip, the smile on Bonnie's face quickly faded.

"Come on Bonnie! You have to give him a chance! Elena is seriously into him!" Charlie said giggling at Bonnie's facial expression, even though she herself had some doubts about the teenage boy. Elena gave her a 'thank you' look.

"Tonight's no good." Bonnie said acting sad. Elena tilted her head, and eyed Bonnie, knowing it was just an excuse.

"Have you seen Caroline? I have texted her like a hundred times?" Bonnie continued completely changing the subject.

Charlotte made a face, she too wondering where her best friend was. She hadn't laid eyes on her at all that day.

"Don't change the subject Bonnie Bennett." Elena said laughing, "You're going to be there."

"Fine, I'll go." Bonnie said, sounding defeated with a pout marring her face.

"Good." Elena and Charlotte said together.

"Seriously where is Caroline?" Bonnie asked a while later. Charlotte looked around; she was no where to be seen. When Elena finished drinking her water she shrugged.

"I don't know. It's not like her to ditch her squad." Charlotte said continuing to look around for her perky blonde haired best friend.

"I'll try her again." Bonnie said picking up her phone for the thousandth time.

Elena and Charlotte looked behind Bonnie to see a car pull up into the parking lot; a dark haired man driving and a blonde next to him. As they drove closer Charlotte recognized the blonde as Caroline.

"Uh," She and Elena both said pointing behind Bonnie.

"Oh my god!" Bonnie responded turning around to look at the car and Caroline.

Caroline leaned over towards the driver and planted a kiss on his lips. She smirked as she pulled away.

"That must be the mystery guy from the grill." Bonnie said looking over towards Caroline and 'Mystery Guy'. Elena and Charlotte both rolled their eyes together.

"That's no mystery guy." Elena said standing up.

"Yea, that's Damon Salvatore." Charlie said also standing up; Bonnie quickly stood up with them.

"Salvatore? As in Stefan?" Bonnie asked. Elena and Charlotte just nodded their heads. Charlotte looked back over to the car when she heard the door slam loudly. Caroline had gotten out of the car and Damon was smirking. She stared as Caroline grinned at them all, making her way towards the squad. Seeing all of the girls shocked faces probably was the cause; it was no secret that Caroline loved attention. She walked towards them and turned slightly to Elena and Charlotte.

"I got the other brother." She said to Elena and then smirking wildly, she directed the next part towards Charlie. "If you don't mind,"

Charlotte was shocked that Caroline was being snarky towards her; she never acted that way towards Charlotte before.

"Sorry I'm late girls. I was uh. . . Busy." She said giggling to herself. It made Charlotte sick.

Caroline was still talking when Charlotte blocked her out and looked over at Damon. He was smirking at her and then lifted his eyebrows as he left.

_"Nice legs, Daisy dukes, makes a man go woowoo__  
__Thats the way they all come through like woowoo woowoo!__  
__Low-cut, see-through shirts that make you woowoo__  
__Thats the way she come through like woowoowoowoo_"

The song was playing while the girls were doing part of a cheer. Elena and Charlotte were next to each other. Messing up like crazy; caused by missing camp over summer.

"Charlie, Elena. Sweeties, why don't you two just observe today," Caroline suggested rudely. Charlotte exchanged a revolted look with her twin and then nodded. Both girls stepped out of line and off to the side.

Charlotte sat on the grass and watched the routine. It seemed so simple, but she was still rusty from being gone for so long. She sighed and stared at the squad. It helped her realize that it didn't seem as fun as she once thought, and that this was part of the old her. She turned looking for Elena but she wasn't there. Charlotte stood and looked around, finally spotting her older sister by the bleachers watching the football players, and walked over to her.

"Hey, what are you. . ." She started but stopped once she saw Stefan in jersey number 17. She already had the answer she was looking for.

"Oh you're watching Stefan." she teased, while Elena only blushed slightly.

Then she noticed Tyler. He was standing next to Matt watching the other players practice.

"Yea, so what if I am? He's my boyfriend. Who are you watching?" She asked looking towards her sister, but Charlotte quickly tore her eyes away from Tyler.

"No one," She replied, focusing on the ground.

"Yes, is it Tyler?" Elena asked knowingly. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Yah, I asked him this morning if we could be friends again and he pretty much blew me off," She stated blankly, crossing her arms over her chest. Elena chuckled at her sister's response, making Charlotte glare at her. She held her hands up in defeat.

"Ok, ok. I get it. He's probably just still upset over the break up; you didn't exactly give him a reason." She told her Charlotte matter-of-factly.

Charlotte turned towards Elena, eyes wide and threw her arms up in the air.

"And what exactly was I supposed to say, 'Hey Ty I know we've been dating for the better part of 3 years, but I need to dump you because I've already met my prince charming in my dreams.'" Charlotte proclaimed animatedly all in one breath.

Elena laughed loudly at her sister and told her that it was better than nothing. And as the sisters playfully bantered and pushed each other back and forth, it reminded them of old times; and made them realize that no matter what could possibly happen, that they'd always have each other.

The girls swiftly made their way home after cheer and Charlotte decided she wanted to shower and take a nap before Elena's "Make Them Like Stefan" dinner. Her shower was quick, and when she returned to her room, she quickly dressed. Once done, she closed her bedroom curtains to keep out the light, snuggled into her bed and fell into a deep sleep.

_A little girl had her head hung, looking at the ground. Her loud sniffles could be heard by the man and woman that were standing tall and looking down at her small form. The woman placed a soft hand on the child's back,_

"_She was wandering through the garden, not knowing where she was. She's all alone, she's just a little girl Mikael," the woman spoke to her husband. The man took a step towards the child, got down on one knee to be at her height, and reached out to lift her chin with a rough, but gentle hand._

_Hazel eyes shining with unshed tears looked up at him. Mikael, for a moment, was stunned by her striking beauty, and then gave her a soft smile wiping away the tears that she had already shed._

"_What's your name dear?" he whispered to the child tenderly._

"_Charlotte," the girl's feather-light voice answered._

"_That's quite a beautiful name you have Charlotte, with eyes just as equally stunning." He told her, glad to see a small smile grace her delicate features. The woman smiled as well; glad to see that her husband was already quite taken with the girl._

_The girl slowly raised her small hand and placed it on the man's stubbly cheek; he was overcome with a feeling of great joy all of a sudden. The little girl tilted her head to the side, her eyebrows lifted, and eyes bright and shining, as if to glamour him. _

"_Esther," he questioned, taking the child's soft and small hand from his face and rubbed it between his own, making her giggle quietly, "are you sure this is a wise decision?"_

"_She's very special Mikael, she is destined for great things, and she's but a child already holding great power." His wife answered, seeing that the little girl had already gotten her husband wrapped around her finger. "So?" she asked again, Mikael glancing up at her._

_Mikael returned to looking at Charlotte, her hypnotizing eyes locking with his._

"_Would you like to stay with us, sweet girl?" He asked. She surprised him suddenly, when she threw her thin arms around his neck. Mikael gave a small chuckle and took her actions as a yes. He gently lifted her into his arms and held her to him, whispering the words 'Welcome home' softly into her small ear._

The scene that was playing in Charlotte's dream suddenly changed however, to something much depressing.

_The sunlight was casting shadows of the trees across the forest floor, as a man weaved throughout them; he never stopped, not even when he heard his brother and sister yelling after him. He didn't stop until he reached the clearing where only nights before, he was with his love, promising her that their love would be forever. _

_There in the center of that same clearing, she laid, he had never seen her so still. And he slowly started making his way towards her, tears strolling down his cheeks, until he finally reached her and dropped to his knees. All he could do was grab her and pull her into his chest. _

_Sobs so strong and loud racked through his body that he didn't even hear his siblings making their way into the clearing. As soon as they saw the sight before them, tears sprang to their eyes. Only the man's young blonde haired sister let hers fall freely down her face, her body slowly shaking from her holding back the sobs that so desperately wanted to break free. _

"_Niklaus," his brother Elijah whispered. _

_But Niklaus did not hear, and if he did, he just ignored it._

_As the siblings stepped closer to their brother, they heard his quiet pleas for her to come back to him. Placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, Elijah kneeled down next to him, trying to pull him away from the girl, but Niklaus wouldn't let go and only tightened the grip that he held her in. _

"_We must go Niklaus," his sister Rebekah whispered lightly, for if she spoke any louder, she knew she would lose complete control of her emotions. Niklaus only whispered that he wasn't leaving her. After a few more moments, he gently set the girl back on the ground, and moved her hair from her face, softly giving her lips one last kiss, and telling her that he would never love again. _

_He rose from the ground, turning to tell his brother to grab a shovel so that she could be buried properly. Looking down at his lost love, he vowed that he would destroy the ones that took her from him. Charlotte, stood watching the scene from the side, feeling sympathy for the heartbroken man, and only then looked towards the girl lain by his feet. _

_And there, she noticed for the first time; with a stab wound through the heart, that the girl was her. _

Charlotte awoke, gasping for as much air as she could take in. She lifted her hands to her wet cheeks, realizing that she had been crying in her sleep, and took in slow, deep, breaths, trying to slow down her rapidly beating heart. She slowly sat up and kept rethinking about the dream over and over again in her head. Never before had she watched the dreams play out from afar, but with this dream, she realized that she was always the girl in them.

She glanced at the alarm clock and realized that she needed to get up and get ready for dinner with Bonnie and Stefan, but decided that she didn't want to change; so she just got out of bed and walked downstairs in her shorts and t-shirt.

She walked down the stairs and heard that Bonnie was already here. As she walked into the kitchen, Elena was ready to chastise her sister for her choice of clothing, but stopped once seeing the look on Charlotte's face; her own face formed a look of concern.

Charlotte noticed the look her sister's face displayed and gave her a soft smile and shook her head in a way to tell Elena she was alright. She hopped up onto the counter and sat Indian style as she listened to Bonnie talk.

"You explain it, last night I'm watching T.V. A commercial break comes on, and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial, and sure enough it's the guy and the girl in the bed; He flies to Paris and he flies back and takes a picture." Bonnie explained. Charlotte although still slightly put off from her latest dream, tried to hold back her laughter but it was no use.

"Oh come on!" She said to Bonnie giggling, who only shot her a playful glare.

"Yea, that commercial is on a constant loop." Elena said smiling.

"Fine, but how about this, today I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers I keep seeing them. **Eight, fourteen, and twenty two****; **how weird is that?" Bonnie asked.

Charlotte, whose mind was wandering, turned to her friend trying to hold back her sarcasm, but it was no use.

"Maybe we should play the lottery." She said in all seriousness. Bonnie glared, and Elena and her burst into laughter.

"Have you talked to your Grams?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch." Bonnie said pouring the pasta into a fancy bowl.

"I don't want to be a witch? Do you want to be a witch?" Bonnie asked Elena and Charlotte.

"I don't want to be a witch." Elena said scrunching her nose.

"I don't know," Charlotte started, but then put a teasing tone into her voice, "oooo, oooo, I put a spell on you, and now your mine." She sang the song from Hocus Pocus, wiggling her fingers in Bonnie's direction.

Elena guffawed, but Bonnie only gave her an amused smile, trying to hold in her laughter.

"You know Lena, putting this stuff in a nice bowl isn't fooling anyone." Charlotte said smiling, pouring the last of the pasta into a glass bowl, once the girls had all calmed down.

"Ok. Serving spoons, where are the serving spoons?" Elena asked looking around the kitchen.

"Don't know." Charlotte said looking around.

"Middle drawer, on the left," Bonnie said knowingly. Charlotte looked at her confused. Elena walked over to where she was pointing, opened the drawer and pulled out a serving spoon. She was shocked, as was Elena. Bonnie just shrugged.

"Ok, so you've been in this kitchen a thousand times." Elena said, acting as if it was nothing.

"Yea, that's it." Bonnie said sarcastically. But was cutoff when the girls suddenly heard the doorbell ring.

"Ok, he's here. Don't be nervous, you two. Just be your normal, perfect selves." Elena said seeming more nervous than Bonnie and her sister.

"Birthday candles," Bonnie said to herself, thinking Charlotte wouldn't hear. She acted as if she hadn't. Charlie watched as Bonnie opened another drawer as if knowing they were there, and watched as her friend's face dropped. Bonnie quickly walked out of the kitchen and Charlotte hopped from the counter, walking to the drawer Bonnie was just at. She opened it, and, low and behold; birthday candles.

After Elena had invited Stefan inside, Bonnie and Charlotte quickly set the table. Once finished the foursome took their seats at the table. Everyone stared at each other awkwardly, and all that could be heard was the clanging of silverware as everyone ate in an uncomfortable silence. Charlotte quickly sent Elena a look as if to tell her to start a conversation.

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked Stefan breaking the silence. Charlotte looked up curiously at Stefan, while Bonnie only kept on staring at her plate.

"Well he let me on the team. So, I must have done something right." Stefan replied smiling at the end. Elena smiled at Stefan giving him her flirty eyes. Charlotte laughed at her sister's expression.

"That's good." Charlotte said taking another bite of her pasta.

"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw the ball right at him and. . . ." Elena started to explain but Bonnie cut her off.

"Yea, I heard, Charlie told me." Bonnie said ending the conversation about Stefan. Charlotte glared at her friend slightly, but then put on fake smile and turned back to Elena, who had fallen silent.

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family," Charlotte said to Bonnie, who shot her a quick glare for bringing it up; knowing that Charlotte meant the whole 'witch' thing.

"Um, divorced; live with my Dad." Bonnie said looking over to Stefan. Both sisters rolled their eyes slightly, knowing that she was avoiding the witch concept.

"No, about the witches," Elena mumbled loud enough for Charlotte to hear, so she knew that both Stefan and Bonnie heard as well. Stefan's head perked up and he looked over at Elena to explain more.

"Bonnie's family comes from a lineage of witches. . ." Elena said to Stefan then turned to Bonnie.

"It's really cool." Elena said to Bonnie.

"Cool isn't the word I'd use." Bonnie stated shaking her head. Charlotte let out a sigh at how most of the group's conversations weren't going anywhere.

Elena turned her head back to Bonnie and gave her a hard look.

"Well it's certainly interesting." Stefan said turning to Bonnie, forcing her to look at him by his sudden words.

"I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that moved here in the 1800's." Stefan said to Bonnie.

"My family came by way of Salem." Bonnie stated to Stefan. Stefan looked intrigued, by her saying they came from Salem.

"Really? Salem witches?" Stefan asked, still interest in what Bonnie had revealed.

"Yea," Bonnie said nodding, and smiling slightly.

"I'd say that's pretty cool." Stefan said turning back to Elena and Charlie. Elena smiled at Stefan knowing she was right about it being cool thing.

"Really?" Bonnie asked unconvinced. "Why?"

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism." Stefan stated, leaving Charlotte amazed at how he could have known that. She looked over to see Bonnie grinning slightly.

"Yea, they are." She replied.

Elena let a small giggle pass through her lips, towards Bonnie. Charlotte smirked as she took another drink from her cup. They were about to continue the conversation when they heard the doorbell ring, not expecting anyone else.

"I wonder who that could be." Charlotte commented standing up, Elena following closely behind her.

Charlotte opened the door to find Caroline and Damon standing there. Caroline was holding a white box in her hands.

"Surprise!" Caroline said cheerfully.

"Bonnie said you were doing dinner so we brought dessert." Caroline said gesturing to the dessert in her hands. Charlotte looked over to Elena, whose mouth was open, but it seemed as if she couldn't find any words.

"Oh." She said smiling.

"Hope you don't mind." Damon said smirking at her. Charlotte felt awkward and quickly turned her head away for a moment.

Caroline didn't wait to be asked to come in; she just waltzed in leaving Damon outside. She handed Elena the dessert she had brought, and Charlotte looked to her left to see Stefan standing there, glaring at Damon.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked Damon, you could hear the fear in his voice. Charlotte had no clue why he was afraid, but decided it wasn't her business.

"Waiting for Charlie or Elena to invite me in," Damon replied stepping closer to the house. He smirked at Stefan as if 'invited in meant' something entirely different.

"Yea, you can . . ." Elena started but was cut of by Stefan. "No, no, no. He can't uh. He can't stay." Stefan replied quickly. The sisters looked at him confused.

"Can you Damon?" Stefan asked Damon. Damon tilted his head at Stefan.

"Get in here." Caroline said from behind them.

"We're just finishing up." Stefan said turning back to Charlotte and Elena.

"It's fine. Right, Lena?" Charlotte questioned Elena and she nodded.

"Alright, just come on in." She said to Damon. As soon as those three words left her mouth Damon smirked at her, and then at Stefan. Stefan glared at Damon as he stepped inside.

"You have a beautiful home, girls." He said turning around to look at the twins.

"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team! Tyler must be seething. Well, good for you! Go for it!" Caroline exclaimed to Stefan, regarding him making the team.

"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage; you can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it!" Damon said to Stefan, as if it had some other meaning to it.

"Yea, Charlie and Elena weren't so lucky today. It's only because you guys missed summer camp. How are you guys ever going to learn the routines?" Caroline asked, sounding slightly snobby, but Charlotte knew she didn't mean to.

"I'll work with them. They'll get it." Bonnie said to Caroline.

"Well, I guess we could put them in the back." Caroline babbled.

"Well guess what you don't have to work with me on it!" Charlotte proclaimed, getting up from her seat and beginning to grab the dirty dishes littered around the room, "I quit!"

But before Caroline could respond, she walked into the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher. She did however keep listening in on the conversation that was going on in the other room.

"Hey, you don't seem like the cheerleading type." Damon said to who she assumed was Elena, but before Elena could answer, Caroline cut her off.

"It's just because their parents died. Yea, I mean they are just totally going through that blah phase. They used to be way more fun!" Charlotte looked down; she knew that part of what Caroline said was true.

"And I say that with complete sincerity." Charlotte heard her friend utter afterwards.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we have ever cared about die." She heard Damon tell her sister.

"We don't need to get into that right now Damon." Stefan said.

"Uh, you know, you're right Stefan. Sorry the last thing I wanted to do was bring her up." Damon replied, obviously referring to this _Katherine_woman. After Damon said this, Charlotte decided she didn't want to hear anymore and tuned the rest of the conversation out.

"One more," Charlotte heard Damon's voice from behind. She turned away from the sink to see Damon holding a glass in his hand.

"Thank you." She said reaching for it. Right when she was about to grab it, it dropped. She gasped, but then noticed Damon had caught it. Fast reflexes?

"Nice save Salvatore." She said laughing, taking the glass from his hand.

"I like you, you know how to laugh." Damon said pointing at her.

Charlotte just stared at him, thinking of something to say and then just as she was about to turn her back to him, something popped into her head.

"Earlier did you mean Katherine?" she asked Damon. He looked surprised that she had asked that question.

"Mmhmm..." Damon said taking the plate out of her hand and placing it into the dishwasher.

"How did she die?" she continued to ask him.

"A fire; tragic fire," Damon replied looking taken aback.

"Recently?" Charlotte questioned him, still curious to find out more about this Katherine girl for her sister's sake.

"Seems like it was yesterday," Damon replied smirking. Charlotte turned away slightly but then turned back.

"What was she like?" she asked Damon.

"She was beautiful, a lot like you in that department. She was also very complicated, and selfish; and at times not very kind but very sexy." Damon replied smirking at her. A look of recognition passed across Charlotte's face.

"So, which one of you dated her first?" she asked him, handing him another plate. If Elena wasn't going to get answers, then Charlotte was.

"Ask, Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine." Damon said putting another dish into the washer.

Charlotte turned away from him and walked to the kitchen island. She heard Damon walk close to her from behind.

"I'm sorry." She said suddenly to Damon. His eyes held confusion.

"About Katherine; you lost her too." Charlotte told him in complete honesty. But then she continued,

"My sister is very important to me Damon, I'm not gonna sit around while you try to play tug of war with your brother over her. She likes him; she likes him a lot; so you need to back off while you're ahead. She's not a toy, and her feelings aren't some game." She told him, her tone threatening and her eyes like ice. Before Damon could respond though, Elena walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, need some help?" She asked.

"Sure why not." Damon replied, Charlotte sent a smile at him and then returned her gaze back to Elena. She'd protect her sister no matter what.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfit link on profile! Review :)**


	5. Chapter 4: Friday Night Bites Pt2

Chapter 4: Friday Night Bites Pt.2

Soon after everyone left the house, Charlotte made her way to her bedroom not bothering to change since she was still in her clothes from her nap. She slowly climbed into the warmth of her bed and wrapped her blankets around her as snugly as she could, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

_Charlotte stood in the field watching the wild horses with her best friend. She slowly walked forward to touch the black stallion that was grazing in the grass just a few feet in front of her. _

"_This is ridiculous" Rebekah spat, Charlotte giggled, seeing the blond haired girl that was practically her sister, glaring at the horse. She gently placed her hand against the belly of the horse and was glad when it didn't get startled. She always seemed to have a way with animals._

"_Really Rebekah, it's a horse just-" Charlotte tried to coax her to come forward, but was cut off._

"_Hush, if Niklaus sees you trying to tame this beast he'll be furious; you could get hurt." Rebekah exclaimed. She was about to speak further until she noticed that the brother she was speaking of was coming up alongside her with Elijah. Charlotte, however failed to notice, her back still to them. _

_She tried to climb onto the wild horse, and just as she was going to, it quickly bolted away, knocking her off. Before she could hit the ground however, she landed in someone's strong arms. Opening her eyes, she looked up, and bright hazel orbs met stormy blue ones._

"_Uh oh" Rebekah muttered seeing a very angered Niklaus holding Charlotte._

"_Rebekah, let's leave them." Elijah murmured to his younger sister who gave Charlotte a small, hesitant smile before she left with Elijah in tow._

"_Klaus, darling, you can let me go now." she murmured, only for him to growl down at her. She soon found herself pinned to a nearby tree, and Charlotte gasped as he pressed his tall strong body against her lean willowy one._

"_What did I say about putting yourself in danger?" he asked his voice low and threatening, as he tightly gripped onto her chin, forcing her to look up at him. _

_She grimaced slightly at the strength of his grip, making him loosen it almost immediately when he heard her whimper. He lightly stroked the area where he had held on to, waiting for her reply._

"_Not to," She answered him, a fierce look in her eyes. _

_He chuckled at her and trailed his fingers along her collar bone._

"_Niklaus, I can look after myself," Charlotte sneered, seeing that he found this amusing, making the man frown. He buried his face into her chestnut curls, deeply inhaling her scent; it was soothing and always managed to calm him down. She let out a soft sigh and leant her temple against the crook of his neck. He felt her long eye lashes brush against his skin; he loved being this close to her._

"_My love, I am thoroughly aware that you can take care of yourself; but you need not. I am here, and you are mine to look after. You belong to me Charlotte; your heart, your love, it is mine. Just like mine is yours." He whispered softly against her skin. And he smiled to himself when he could feel Charlotte's own grin widen against his chest._

Charlotte was woken up from her dream to Elena shaking her and calling her name. She groggily lifted her head, looking in her sister's direction.

"What?" she questioned.

"You overslept, you need to get up and get ready for the game!" Elena exclaimed, and seeing that her younger twin was up, exited her room to return to her own. Charlotte soon got out of bed and decided she didn't have time for a shower, so went to her closet to pull out an outfit for the pep rally and game.

Once she was dressed in a wide striped v-neck shirt tucked into a pair of navy pants, she looped her skinny brown belt through the belt loops and put on her ankle strap wedges. She left her bedroom and walked over to her sister's, slipping on her cognac colored cardigan that had blue piping.

Charlotte saw Elena sitting on her bed holding her uniform, looking at it with an unreadable expression on her face.

"You're thinking about quitting, aren't you?" She asked. Elena looked up startled, having not heard her sister enter the room. She looked back down at her uniform and then back to Charlotte.

"Yea," she whispered sadly. Charlotte nodded, she had felt the same way when she told Caroline last night that she quit. She giggled softly at her sister,

"We can be quitters together," she professed, making a small smile grace Elena's face.

"Come on, let's go!" She then said, grabbing Elena's arm and pulling her towards the door. Elena however, stopped halfway with an amused look on her face.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Why we're going to cheer on your boyfriend of course," Charlotte replied teasingly.

The sisters smiled at each other and then continued to make their way out of the house and to the school for the night's festivities.

When Elena and Charlotte finally made it to the school, they took in the sights around them; girls were trying to flirt with the players of the team as they tossed footballs around to one another. Welcome to high school everyone.

"So where is this Stefan of yours?" Charlotte asked Elena, looking around, "Have you told him that his girlfriends not a cheerleader anymore?"

"I have no idea. He should be around here somewhere, and no I haven't told him yet; if you haven't noticed, I've been with you the whole time." She replied, trying to spot Stefan in the crowd of people. The sisters soon spotted him walking towards them; in his football jersey.

"Oohh, look at you, you look hot in your jersey!" Elena exclaimed to him, and Charlotte had to laugh seeing her sister put her flirty face on. Stefan smiled and noticed that Elena wasn't in her cheer uniform.

"What happened? No more cheerleader?" Stefan asked.

"Nope I quit," She replied, "Me and Charlie, we're quitters," she added soon after.

"No." Stefan said grasping Elena's hands into his.

"Hey you're both not quitters, you both suffered a great loss. You're not the same people anymore. You two should be looking ahead; should be starting over." Stefan said to the twins in a wise voice. Charlotte smiled at his choice of words. So did Elena.

"Okay." Stefan continued looking deeply into Elena's eyes as she did the same. She nodded grinning at him.

"I hope you don't think this is too soon or too weird but I wanted you to have this." Stefan said to Elena, taking a small box out of his pocket and opening it for her to see. Inside was a necklace. Elena grabbed it and examined the pendant, smiling at its beauty.

It was round and made of silver; holding a red gem near the bottom.

"Oh my god, it's beautiful." Elena said looking up at Stefan. Charlotte smiled taking a step back so that her sister and her boyfriend could have a moment.

"It's something that I have had forever and I never wanted to give it to anyone until now. I would very much like it if you wear it for me; for good luck." Charlotte awed quietly, watching as Elena lifted the necklace to her nose and smelled it.

"Is that rose that I smell?" Elena asked Stefan. She then turned to Charlotte and practically shoved the necklace up her nose trying to get her to smell it.

"Elena," Charlotte laughed grabbing a hold of Elena's wrist and pulling it away from her face before gently pulling it back to lightly smell the scent.

"What is it?" She asked Stefan, allowing Elena to have her wrist back.

"It's an herb, it's nice huh?" Stefan said to Elena, Elena smiled avidly at Stefan.

"I love it." Elena said. She turned around and held the necklace out for Stefan to put it around her neck. She moved her hair out of the way for him to clip it.

"I wanted to thank you for pushing me to try out for the team." Stefan said to Elena. Elena turned back around to face him.

"It feels really good." He continued.

"We're a pair; I quit, you start." Elena replied.

"Right, we're a work in progress." Stefan said to Elena, and she rose up on her toes and pecked Stefan's lips.

Charlotte, who had still been standing there, cleared her throat so they would pull apart. Stefan smiled one last time at them and walked away. Elena returned it to Stefan, but once he was gone she turned back to her sister with a glare in her eyes.

"Really?" She asked annoyed. Charlotte just giggled and looped their arms, trying to lead her away, but they were soon stopped by an angry Caroline.

"And you're not in uniform because?" Caroline asked in her usual snooty tone. Apparently she wasn't paying much attention last night to Charlotte quitting, so Charlotte turned towards Elena, waiting for her to explain.

Later on, as the sun had finally set, the whole school was standing around as Mr. Tanner was about to give a speech. Charlotte and Elena made their way to the front of the crowd so they could see the players and unfortunately the cheerleaders were up there too.

Charlotte made eye contact with Caroline, only to receive a hard glare that was soon replaced with Caroline's normal cheery expression before anyone could notice. She then saw Stefan who was busy sending Elena flirty smiles.

As she continued to look around, her gaze landed on Tyler. He seemed bored. He must have felt her stare because the two soon made eye contact, but he just rolled his eyes and then turned his back on her. Charlotte let out a long sigh of defeat.

After the Tyler debacle, she stopped listening to Tanner's speech of how, with Stefan now on the team, they were going to win. She could tell that the players were not very pleased with Stefan's 'outstanding' talents being bragged about.

"Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore," Mr. Tanner exclaimed, effectively ending his speech.

Elena started clapping, and turned to notice the far off look in her twin's eyes, giving Charlotte a soft nudge to the ribs, Charlotte broke from her trance and started clapping along with the student body.

She noticed Tyler lean over to Matt and mumble something that she could only guess wasn't pleasant based on the sour expression on his face. He hastily walked from the players' line and into the crowd. Charlotte, becoming curious, told Elena she would be right back, and followed after him.

She headed in the direction he left in, pushing her way through the hoards of people, and saw Tyler walking towards her little brother, Jeremy. As she walked closer, she was shocked by the right hook Jeremy delivered to Tyler's face, and soon enough, a fight broke out.

As the boys continued fighting, Charlotte marched her way over to Vicki, who was standing nearby,

"Aren't you going to stop them? They're fighting over you," she shouted but Vicki just softly mumbled for Tyler to stop; Charlotte just decided she needed to step in, but Stefan beat her to it.

"Hey! He's down; enough!" Stefan yelled at Tyler as he grabbed the football player's fist in mid flight. Tyler roughly stood up and punched Stefan in the stomach, Charlotte stood by watching, and knew something was weird when he didn't even flinch from the hit.

She gasped as she saw Jeremy grabbing a broken glass bottle off the ground and swing at Tyler, only to slice Stefan instead. Charlotte rushed forward to check on Tyler, softly placing her hands on his broad shoulders. Tyler, not checking to see who it was, turned abruptly, roughly shoving her, causing her to tumble to the ground, landing on her butt.

A look of remorse suddenly marred his features, once seeing that it was Charlotte he had pushed. He walked forward to help, an apology coming from his lips, only for her to push his hands away; her hazel eyes looking up at him, filled with sadness and indifference. Charlotte slowly pulled herself from the ground and dusted the dirt off of her clothes, turning and walking away from Tyler, not bothering to look back.

She was making her way towards her sister and Stefan because she saw Jeremy cut his hand with the glass, but she stopped when she saw him showing Elena that his hand was fine and telling her that it wasn't his blood. But Charlotte knew what she had seen. She saw his cut hand.

She turned, walking away from the crowd of people and over to her car, resting her forehead against the roof for just a minute's peace. Once she collected her emotions, she turned around, only to come face to face with Damon Salvatore.

She jumped, slightly startled, wondering how he had gotten so close to her without her being able to hear him.

"You scared me! What are you doing here?' Charlotte asked, trying to get her breathing back to normal.

"I'm hiding from Caroline," Damon whispered.

A breeze suddenly passed, blowing Charlotte's hair in his direction; her scent, which he never really noticed before, becoming that much stronger. Damon put both his hands on either side of her against the car, tilting his head down, trying to push his fangs back and get his hunger under control. He had never smelled someone so sweet.

Finally looking back up, he locked eyes with Charlotte.

"And why is that?" she whispered sarcastically back to him, making him snap out of his thoughts.

"I needed a break; she talks more than I can listen." Damon stated like she should have already known the answer.

"You know, you really shouldn't talk about your girlfriend, to said girlfriend's best friend," Charlotte told him as she raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

"You're kind of a dick. I noticed that last night when I was telling you to stay away from my sister; and right now I'm going to tell you to stay away from Caroline." She added, trying to walk away from him, but Damon wouldn't budge.

"I'm sorry if I've done anything to make you not like me. That was never my intention," he said, gazing deeply into her eyes.

"I'm sure it wasn't," Charlotte said, knowing that his apology was anything but sincere.

Damon glanced down at her and then looked around the parking lot, making sure they were still alone.

"You're right, I do have other intentions; but so do you," he told the gorgeous girl.

"Oh really," she asked condescendingly, deciding to follow along.

"I see them, you want me; that's why you want me to stay away from your sister and Caroline, you want me for yourself." he told her, looking into her eyes.

"Excuse me?" Charlotte asked, appalled that Damon would accuse her of such a thing, but then realized who she was dealing with, so she wasn't that shocked anymore.

He grabbed her face between his hands ready to compel her, wanting to tear his fangs into the delicate slope of her throat. Charlotte saw his pupils dilating as he stared into her eyes, she looked at him confused and ripped herself away from his grip.

"What is wrong with you? I don't know what game you're trying to play, but I won't have any part of it, and I won't allow you to get my sister involved in it either." She exclaimed, throwing him an icy glare over her shoulder as she walked away, not even bothering to wait for an answer.

Damon looked at her retreating form, a confused look crossing his face, and decided to confront his brother.

Charlotte was walking around the side of the school, but stopped hearing the Salvatore brothers,

"So what did you give to Charlie?" Damon questioned Stefan, "I admit, I was bit surprised, it's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion; where'd you get it?"

Stefan was confused hearing this, knowing that he didn't give anything to Charlotte, only to Elena, but decided to pretend that he knew what Damon was talking about.

"Does it matter?" He asked, making an attempt to push past his older brother. Charlotte peeked her head around the corner, but still making sure that neither brother would be able to see her.

"I guess I could just seduce her the old fashioned way; or I could just eat her." Damon told his brother. Charlotte was suddenly confused but also struck with fear as she heard him say this.

She saw Stefan step towards Damon.

"No, you're not going to hurt her Damon," she heard him say.

"No?" Damon questioned.

"Because deep down inside of you, there is a part of you that feels for Elena. And if you hurt Charlotte, she'll always hate you. I was worried you had no humanity left inside you; that you may have actually become the monster you pretend to be." Stefan told him. Charlotte still couldn't understand what was going on; she had no idea what the brothers were talking about.

"Who's pretending?" Damon asked him.

"Then kill me!" Stefan exclaimed. She could see that he was challenging Damon.

"Well, I'm tempted." Damon responded, but Charlotte could see that he was lying.

"No you're not; you've had lifetimes to do it and here I am, I'm still alive, and there you are, you're still haunting me after 145 years!" he said, causing Charlotte's eyes to widen,

"Katherine is dead and you hate me because you loved her and you torture me because you still do. That, my brother, is your humanity." Stefan finished, and she could tell that his words affected Damon by the way he was clenching his jaw. She then noticed that Mr. Tanner was fast approaching the brothers,

"Salvatore, what the hell, we have a game to play," Stefan noticed his coach and then looked towards Damon. Charlotte could see the smirk forming on Damon's face from under the light.

"If that's my humanity, then what's this?" he said.

Suddenly Damon was gone and she looked and saw him by Mr. Tanner, wondering how he had gotten there so quickly. She heard Stefan shout for Damon not to and all the color drained from her face as she witnessed Damon biting into Mr. Tanner. The teacher's body was thrown to the ground, and she saw his blood dripping from Damon's mouth.

"Anyone; anytime; anyplace." She heard him say and before she could even blink, he disappeared. Charlotte's heart was pounding in her ears. She turned on her heels, trying to make a quick getaway, only to trip over her feet and fall to the ground.

She lifted herself up onto her knees and saw that she had scraped her hands.

Stefan stood there, staring down at his history teacher and coach's body, when he smelt it. He followed the smell around the corner, just as the gym doors opened to someone discovering Mr. Tanner's body.

Charlotte looked up and saw Stefan coming towards her; his eyes dark and red with blood lust. He turned his head away, trying to get his hunger under control as he got closer. She scurried away until her back hit a wall and she had no where left to go. She looked up at him, a petrified look marring her features, and her voice was trembling as she asked him the one question that she needed an answer to,

"What are you?"

"Charlotte," he said trying to come towards, but she just shook her head at him and whimpered, signaling for him to not come any closer. She decided to ask him again.

"What are you?"

"You already know the answer," he started, "You saw everything."

"But it's not possible, it can't be, vampires aren't real!" She cried out softly, in fear that if she spoke too loudly, she'd break down. But the next time she spoke, her voice held fire, "It was you; you and Damon. All these animal attacks! I knew there was something going on when I first touched you and when I saw your reaction to blood; you're face changed. You and Damon are the ones killing all these people."

Stefan looked down at her, but then his features turned to that of wonder as her eyes started to glow.

"It wasn't me Charlie. It was Damon! I need you to listen to me Charlotte, just come with me and I can explain everything; I won't hurt you, you're safe with me!" Stefan told her, trying to soothe her with a gentle voice.

Charlotte looked up at him, looking into his eyes and saw the truth they held. Giving him a light nod of her head, she allowed him to help her up; Stefan softly grabbed her forearms, careful to not touch her lightly scraped hands, and pulled her from the ground.

Leaving her car in the parking lot, the two teenagers hastily walked away from the chaos that was forming only just around the corner. And although Charlotte was still partially afraid, she'd overcome her fear for the answers she was looking for.

A few minutes had passed, the duo still walking, when Charlotte decided to speak.

"How long?" she asked him. Stefan knew what she was referring to and gave her his answer,

"I've been 17 since 1864," he stated glancing at the shocked looked on Charlotte's face.

"And Katherine? Damon keeps speaking of her," she continued.

"She turned both Damon and I." He told her.

"How?" Charlotte just kept firing questions at him.

"She manipulated us both, and we were killed trying to protect her. She had been feeding us her blood, so when we awoke, we were in transition." Stefan told her and she assumed that that was how one became a vampire; dying with a vampire's blood in your system. He then continued on, seeing the look on her face, "She could control our minds. She wanted us to keep the secret from one another. She wanted all of us to be together; forever."

"Elena…" She started, but Stefan cut her off,

"She can't be compelled. That necklace I gave her, I put vervain inside of it. It protects her from compulsion."

"Earlier, Damon said that he tried to," but Stefan cut her off yet again,

"You resisted it Charlie, all on your own," he told her, "You're something different, I could tell from your smell the first time we met. Your blood is the sweetest I've ever smelled before. I've never been more tempted in all 145 years that I've been a vampire."

Charlotte's eyes widened as he said this,

"How are you stopping yourself?" she asked him.

"With all of my self control; besides I don't drink human blood, I drink from animals." And even though that should've put her at ease, only one thing came to mind,

"You drink from bunnies?" she asked, eyes wide and a look of disbelief on her face, but that look soon turned aghast, "You _eat_. _Poor_. _Little_. _Defenseless._ Bunny rabbits?"

Stefan let out a small chuckle seeing her expression.

"Well I guess it's better than humans," Charlotte muttered after. But soon became concerned.

"Elena," she started but couldn't finish. Stefan noticed what she wanted to say and finished it for her,

"I would never hurt her, I never compelled her, and she's always had her free will Charlotte. She's safe with me; you both are." But then another person came to her mind.

"Caroline! Damon's with her Stefan! He could be hurting her! Taking away _her_ free will!" she exclaimed.

Stefan slowly walked towards her, lifting his hands to gently cup her cheeks,

"I'll deal with Damon," he whispered, gazing into her eyes, trying to put her at ease.

Charlotte didn't have anymore to say, so both turned back and walked to her car. On the way there, Stefan told her all he could manage about vampires, and Charlotte knew that when he told her that vampires were able to walk in the sun with jewelry spelled by witches, that her best friend Bonnie was really a witch; she just didn't want to believe it yet.

They finally made it to her car and Charlotte turned to look up at Stefan one last time, a warm look on her face. She knew how much Stefan cared for Elena.

"Stefan, I'll keep this secret for you; but sooner or later, she'll need to know. You need to promise me that she'll always be safe with you, because the minute she gets hurt," Charlotte's voice than suddenly changed to one of hardness, "I'll find a way to end you myself."

And as she drove away, the occurrences of that night playing out in her head, she missed the look of understanding that was displayed across the youngest Salvatore's face.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfit link on profile.**

So in this chapter, Charlotte finds out Stefan's secret, that she's not exactly human, and gives a vampire permission to date her sister!

I might skip around and fast forward in a few episodes so that Klaus can appear sooner; so if anyone has any preferences, leave a comment :)


	6. Chapter 5: Family Ties

Chapter 5: Family Ties

Charlotte awoke a few mornings later, thinking back to that night. When she had gotten home, she quickly told her family that she was exhausted and hurried along to her room, wanting to avoid Elena all together. But since she was her twin, that task was impossible.

Charlotte crawled from her bed and still dressed in her pajamas, slowly made her way out of her bedroom and down the stairs, hearing the television in the living room on.

"_I repeat; the animal responsible for terrorizing Mystic Falls has been caught._" Logan Fell said on the news.

"Scum ball, scum bucket…" She heard her aunt mutter while staring at the television. Charlotte let out a laugh and asked if she could take part in the name calling, announcing a few insults of her own, before finally spotting her sister sitting at the table.

Elena held a confused look on her face and asked who Aunt Jenna was talking to.

"Him!" she responded, motioning to the T.V.

"The news guy?" Charlotte asked her, wondering how her aunt knew him.

"Did your mom ever tell you two why I moved away from Mystic Falls?" Jenna asked. Elena started laughing.

"No way," Elena said chuckling, "You and him?"

"He's cute. I guess if you kinda tilt your head to the side and squint your eyes." Charlotte added, doing just that. She was trying to avoid eye contact with Elena so that she wouldn't spill her newfound secret.

"He's not cute. There's nothing cute about him." Jenna replied to her niece defensively while shutting the television off. Charlotte rolled her eyes and walked over to the kitchen table and sat down by Elena, noticing her cleaning something. Jenna must have noticed it too because she looked intrigued.

"What are you doing with that?" Jenna asked Elena.

"I went yesterday and got it from the safety deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood that she would loan it to the Founders Council for their heritage display." Elena stated.

Charlotte nodded knowing how her ex-boyfriend's mother could get. Jenna looked into the box that was in front of Elena and reached in and pulled a ring out.

"Is that Grandma Beth's wedding ring?" Jenna asked admiring it.

"Well originally it was great, great grandma Mary's wedding ring." Elena said.

Charlotte heard a noise and turned halfway to see Jeremy behind her.

"How much do you think this stuff is worth? I mean on eBay?" Jeremy asked. She rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly after hearing him ask that question.

Elena grabbed whatever it was that was in Jeremy's hand and put it back in the box.

"You're not gonna find out." Elena said to him bitterly.

"That stuff is mom and dad's; you can't just give it away." Jeremy said to Elena while walking towards the fridge. Elena scoffed and rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm not giving it away; it's called a loan Jeremy." Elena replied.

Then the family heard the doorbell. Charlotte rose from the chair and went up to answer it. She opened the door to see Stefan standing across the threshold.

"Hi," she whispered, inviting him in,

"Any news," she asked, talking about if he had come up with a plan to get rid of Damon.

"Not yet," he told her, giving her a soft smile, knowing she was worried about her friends and family with Damon being around. She smiled back at him before calling for Elena and walking away.

Later on in the day, Charlotte was lounging around on the couch munching on chips when she heard the doorbell again. She yelled for Elena to get the door, being too lazy to get it herself, but got no response. Charlotte let out a huff and tossed the bowl to the side and got up to answer the door.

She opened it and saw Tyler Lockwood on the other side. Rolling her eyes, she tried to slam it shut, since he was the last person she wanted to see; if he was going to be a dick to her, she was going to be one back. But Tyler just held the door open with his hand.

"I'm sorry about the other night Charlie." He said looking down. Charlotte rolled her eyes once again and clenched her jaw.

"Whatever Tyler, now what are you doing here?" She asked him with a frown.

"I'm here for my mom. I'm supposed to pick up a box of stuff." Tyler started but was cut off by Elena coming up behind her sister.

"It's right here." She said walking up with the box in her hand. When she got to the door and handed it to him, her facial expression became extremely serious. "Please be careful." She continued.

"Yea be careful with it dick!" Charlotte muttered under her breath. But by the looks on both Elena's and Tyler's faces, she knew they had heard her.

"Hey. Not now, okay guys, please." Elena said looking between Tyler and her sister.

"I would be perfectly fine if this one would stop being a jerk and just talk to me! But no, big bad Tyler has to be a dick about it." She all but growled through gritted teeth.

Elena looked at Charlotte,

"Not now, please, Charlie." The older twin mumbled, making the younger one nod.

"Ok Tyler, you should go. Tell your mom that we'll see her tonight." Elena said to Tyler putting on a fake smile. Tyler nodded as Elena left.

Charlotte was tried to slam the door in his face one last time but he stopped it again with his hand.

"Hey would it make a difference if I really am sorry?" He asked her, wanting her to smile and forgive him; he wanted Charlotte back in his life, but just not as his friend, he wanted them to be together like before.

But Charlotte only pursed her lips at his words.

"Not even if you meant it." She said resentfully, closing the door in his face and this time, Tyler let it slam shut.

Charlotte walked back to the couch dropping down, she felt bad being such a bitch to Tyler, but she knew he deserved it. She kicked her feet up onto the table flipping through the channels, waiting for Bonnie to arrive so that they could get ready for the Founder's party later that night.

"Delicate Flower verses Naughty Vixen?" Bonnie asked, holding up two bottles of nail polish.

"Tough call," Charlotte said tilting her head and walking away from Elena who was at the sink, and over to Bonnie who was sitting at the kitchen table. She wondered it Bonnie believed her Grams yet about the whole witch thing. She was cut off from her thoughts as she heard Elena start to speak.

"Can we mix them?" Elena asked. Bonnie giggled at Elena's remark. Charlotte pulled out the chair beside Bonnie and sat down.

"Look at you getting all pretty for your date. You seem happy-ish." Bonnie said to Elena while digging through her bag.

"I am ish." Elena said resting her hands on the table, "Tonight's going to be a good night. But don't let that stop you from telling us whatever it is you wanted to tell us as soon as you walked in the door." Elena said to Bonnie with a knowing glare.

Bonnie sighed knowing that Charlotte and Elena knew something was up and that they weren't going to leave it alone until she told them.

"What if I tell you guys in the morning? I don't want to ruin your night." Bonnie replied; you could see the hope cross her face that the twins would agree with her but instead they shook their heads, wanting to know right then and there.

"Bonnie." Charlotte said in a warning tone.

"Out with it." Elena said finishing for her sister.

"Ok. But it has to go in the vault because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she told." Bonnie said looking at them both, making sure that they agreed to her terms. Both girls nodded slightly.

But Bonnie and Elena missed the look of worry that passed Charlotte's features; as soon as she heard Damon and Caroline's names in the same sentence, she wondered what her best friend had gotten herself into.

"Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back story." Bonnie said slowly.

"Maybe we should wait for Stefan to tell Elena himself," Charlotte said hoping for Bonnie to stop talking, but she only turned to Elena and continued.

"Do you know what happened with his ex girlfriend Katherine?" Bonnie asked her.

"I know that they both dated her." Elena said.

That's when Charlotte decided to intervene,

"All siblings have issues with each other, let's not make a big deal about it," she rebutted; only to have Bonnie cut her off.

"Yeah they both dated her. Only she chose Damon and that drove Stefan mad so he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine, filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked. And she turned against Damon." Bonnie said sadly looking deeply at Elena.

Charlotte shook her head slightly. Even though she had only gotten Stefan's side of the story, she knew that that wasn't what happened. She knew Katherine manipulated them both and that in turn made the brothers go against one another. Although she knew there was something else that Stefan wasn't telling her about.

"That sounds like one person's side of the story meaning Damon." Elena said, making Charlotte smirk slightly; thinking the same thing. She wasn't about to let Damon ruin what Stefan and her sister had.

"I just wanted you to know." Bonnie said to Elena shrugging.

"Anyways it's none of our business about their past." Charlotte then stated harshly, shutting them both up. She didn't know why she was getting so defensive but she knew she didn't want to discuss the Salvatore brothers anymore.

Bonnie and the Gilbert twins were getting ready in Elena's bathroom. Bonnie was helping Charlotte tie her hair back into a low bun and Elena was doing her makeup in the mirror. The girls heard the phone ring and Elena quickly left to go answer.

Once Bonnie was done with Charlotte's hair, Charlotte walked out from the bathroom into her sister's room, catching the end of her conversation.

"What do you mean it isn't there?" Elena asked into the phone. "Are you sure?"

"Because I saw it," Elena said,

"Let me check, I will find it and bring it. Ok, bye." Elena voice getting angrier as she spoke; and Charlotte saw her walking to Jeremy's room.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked, stepping out of the bathroom to join her friend.

"I don't know." She said, holding up her finger to signal Bonnie one minute before following after Elena.

"I would never sell this. Ok?" Jeremy said to Elena, holding the pocket watch in his hand. Charlotte sighed and now understood that it was Mrs. Lockwood on the phone, thinking she had lost it. And Elena, being Elena had to blame Jeremy; but this time, she was right.

"Then why did you take it?" Elena asked Jeremy staring at their little brother.

"Because it's supposed to be his," Charlotte answered stepping into the doorway. The two finally noticed her standing in there.

"Yea..." Jeremy said turning back to Elena, hurt and anger in his eyes.

"Dad said the first born son. His father gave it to him and now what?" Jeremy continued slamming the old pocket watch into Elena's hands.

He bumped his shoulder against Elena's as he walked back to his computer. He shot Charlotte a quick glance and all the older sister could do was look at him with sympathy.

"And he was going to give it to you." Elena finally said; realization taking over her.

"Yea," Jeremy said about to turn his music back on.

Elena turned around to look at him when she reached to doorway.

"Look Jeremy, it's still yours ok. Mom promised Mrs. Lockwood. What do you want me to do?" She asked in almost a begging tone only for her brother to harden his eyes at her.

"Just take it and get out." Jeremy said turning the music on. Elena sighed and looked down at the pocket watch that was in her hands.

Charlotte walked forward and took the pocket watch from her sister's hand and placed it down on Jeremy's dresser. She gave Elena a pleading look, as if to tell her to leave it. She then let out a sigh and walked out of the room, going back to Bonnie.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked again, curiosity on her face.

"Nothing," Charlotte replied in a disheartened tone, hoping that Elena wouldn't take the pocket watch that rightfully belonged to Jeremy.

The girls finished doing their hair and makeup and Charlotte left the room, going to her's to dress in a reddish orange pleated dress and a pair of nude pumps. She grabbed her green clutch that somewhat matched her earrings, from her table and made her way out of the room to Bonnie, who was her date for the night.

The girls finally made it to the Founder's Party, Elena and Stefan walking up ahead of them. They all stood at the entrance, waiting to be invited in by Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood. Charlotte and Bonnie were next in line and Charlotte just pulled her in past Stefan and Elena, wanting to avoid an awkward conversation with her ex's parents.

When the girls were finally in, Bonnie left to go get them drinks. Charlotte hoped she wouldn't have to see Mrs. Lockwood, but fate had other plans and panic soon swarmed through her as she caught the woman coming towards her from the corner of her eye.

Charlotte tried to make a quick getaway, already knowing that the woman wanted to talk about her and Tyler, but she wasn't quick enough.

"Charlotte! Sweetheart!" she heard Mrs. Lockwood call from behind her. She rolled her eyes and then turned around slowly, plastering the fake but believable smile that she had perfected over the past few months onto her face.

"Hello Mrs. Lockwood." Charlotte said in a fake sweet tone.

"You look very beautiful, Charlie. Your parents would be proud." Mrs. Lockwood said to her, smiley widely. Charlotte's eyes fell to the floor for a split second before she looked back up.

"Thank you." She replied, her voice less cheery than it was before.

"So what is this I hear about you and my son not being together anymore?" Mrs. Lockwood asked; her eyes wide and full of curiosity.

"No, Mrs. Lockwood we aren't." Charlotte replied hoping she wouldn't ask for more information.

"Why did you two split up? You two were the _perfect_couple." She said dragging out the word perfect.

'And here she goes again about the whole were the perfect couple' Charlotte thought to herself.

"Well, after my parents died I needed time alone." She simply stated. Mrs. Lockwood nodded at her but Charlotte knew she wasn't convinced.

"I understand. Do you think you will get together with him again?" She asked, hope filling her eyes. Charlotte decided she was going to play the victim seeing as she was still pissed at Tyler.

"No, I'm sorry. It's just that I tried to ask him if we could still be friends but it seems that he's to enamored with Vicki..." She began to say but was cut off by Mrs. Lockwood.

"_Vicki?_Vicki _Donovan?_" She asked her, shock written all over her face.

"You didn't know?" Charlotte asked stunned, still acting.

"Oh, no I didn't..." She said looking around the room. "Please excuse me Charlie." Mrs. Lockwood said excusing herself.

Charlotte let out a relieved sigh and felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. There stood Bonnie with her drink.

"Sorry. I would have come sooner but I didn't want to interrupt your conversation with Mrs. Lockwood." Bonnie said in a sarcastic apology. Charlotte huffed, rolling her eyes and took the drink, thanking her friend as she did so.

She then decided to find her sister so that they could look at the Heritage Display together. Her parents' were a big part of the Founder's Council so she held it close to her heart.

"I'm gonna go find Lena, Bon." Charlotte told her friend, giving her a slight wave of her hand and walking off to find her sister. She walked a short distance to the room where the exhibit was set up and saw Stefan and her sister staring at the displays.

"There's a lot of history here, huh," she whispered, once she had tiptoed right up behind Elena.

Elena jumped, turning around to see her sister, hand flying to her heart,

"Oh my god, Charlie! You scared me!" She said breathing heavy. Charlotte only rolled her eyes.

The trio walked over to an old scroll which turned out to be the original guest list.

"The Founding Family's of Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural Founders Council Celebration." Charlotte said reading the heading of the script aloud.

"Wow look it's the original Founders Celebration guest registry." Elena continued. Charlotte looked up at the top of the script and saw familiar names.

"Wow look at all of these familiar names Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood,. . ." she said reading them aloud then two names caught her eye and just had to catch Elena's as well.

"Is that Damon and Stefan Salvatore?" Elena asked. Charlotte stood there, tilting her head down and pinching the bridge of her nose before looking up and giving Stefan a hard stare.

"The original Salvatore brothers; our ancestors," Damon said announcing his presence.

They all turned to look and see Damon walking over to them in his usual black attire, Caroline at his side.

"Tragic story actually." Damon said.

"We don't need to bore them with the stories of the past." Stefan said walking closer to Damon. They both gave each other a glare.

"It's not boring Stefan. I'd love to know more about them," Elena said to Stefan.

"Well I'm bored. I want to dance and Damon won't dance with me." Caroline said shooting Damon a flirty glower. Charlotte rolled her eyes at her friend. Damon made a face and made an 'mmm' sound as if telling her no.

"Could I just borrow your date?" Caroline asked Elena.

"Oh, uh," Elena said awkwardly looking over to Stefan.

"I don't really dance." Stefan said answering Elena's question.

"Oh, sure he does you should see him. Waltz, Jitterbug, and The Moonwalk; he does it all." Damon said smirking at Stefan. Elena looked very uncomfortable and Charlotte just wanted to shove a stake up his ass.

"You wouldn't mind? Would you Elena?" Caroline asked Elena.

"It's up to Stefan. But I am going to go find Bonnie." Elena said walking away.

"Sorry but I'm not going to take no for an answer." Caroline said to Stefan grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the room.

'Great', Charlotte thought, being left with Damon, last time she saw him, he was draining her History teacher dry.

"I want to apologize to you, for being such a world class jerk the other night, it was no excuse. My therapist says that I'm acting out, to punish Stefan." Damon said breaking the awkward silence.

"For what?" Charlotte asked sounding oblivious, hoping she could get Damon to talk.

"It's all in the past; I don't even want to bring it up. Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers." Damon said. Charlotte nodded slowly, knowing that the original Salvatore brothers were him and Stefan.

"The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town until the war, there was a battle here..." Damon began but Charlotte cut him off.

"The Battle of Willow Creek."

"Right," He said shocked that she knew that.

"We talked about it in class, confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside." She said smartly, remembering Stefan talk about it in class; but the night of the game he told her the truth, the Founder's locked away the vampires in there, burning them.

"What the history books left out was that the people that were killed weren't there by accident. They were believed to be union sympathizers; so some of the Founder's confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive." Damon said walking to a model of what Charlotte thought was probably the church back in the 1800's.

"Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church." Damon said staring at the model looking taken aback; she knew he was speaking of Katherine.

"And when they went to rescue her they were shot; murdered in cold blood." Damon said his voice sounding hurt and angry at the same time.

"Who was in the church that they wanted to save?" Charlotte asked, wanting Damon to tell her, even though she already knew.

"A woman... I guess. Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?" Damon asked tilting his head and staring at her, his eyes looking hurt.

Charlotte's heart started to ache for him, knowing that from the look on his face, that he genuinely loved this Katherine woman, just like her love for the man in her dreams.

"Look I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you but you can't bring Elena into the middle of it." She said to him gently, he looked down at the floor and back up to her. "I just hope you two can work it out."

"I hope so too." Damon said to her in what seemed to be complete honesty.

He grinned at the beautiful girl sweetly and she did the same back, before she turned her back walking away. After that talk with Damon, she started thinking that maybe he wasn't so bad, but knew better; he was the cause of all those murders. He was a blood thirsty monster; and she needed to keep him away her sister and Caroline.

She needed to find Stefan. But first, she needed to use the bathroom.

She walked out of the stall to see Caroline and her sister. Both were freshening up and softly greeted her. Everything was quiet until Elena noticed something red and what seemed to be bloody underneath Caroline's scarf. Charlotte however shook with anger already knowing what it was.

"What is that?" Elena asked her still staring at her neck.

"Hmm?" Caroline asked, putting lip gloss on. Elena tried to move her scarf but Caroline shrugged her hand off.

"Don't." She said sternly. Then Elena finally got the scarf up and saw a bite mark.

'Damon,' Charlotte thought in her head. And after seeing the marks on Caroline, knew he had to be dealt with.

"What happened?" Charlotte asked her friend as Elena let go of the scarf.

"Nothing. Okay?" She said seeming nervous.

"That is not nothing! Did somebody hurt you?" Elena shouted.

"No! Ok, it's nothing...My mom would kill me." She said to them.

Charlotte looked at the white jacket Caroline had on and walked over; pulling it from her shoulders and seeing more bite marks mar her friend's skin.

"Did Damon hurt you?" Charlotte asked suddenly, already knowing the answer.

"No! Of course not!" Caroline yelled. Elena stepped forward, trying to get a closer look but Caroline just shoved her away.

"Just leave me alone ok?" Caroline shouted at the Gilbert twins walking out of the bathroom.

'Damon did this... This was his fault...' Charlotte kept repeating in her head.

Elena walked out of the bathroom and Charlotte stepped out soon after; she needed to find Stefan and she needed to find him now!

As she was looking around for him, she saw Damon leading Caroline outside to the far end of the yard. She followed hoping to get to Caroline before Damon could hurt her even more. She was too late though, watching as Damon sank his fangs into her.

Charlotte made a step to move forward but was roughly pulled into someone's hard chest behind a tree, a hand placed over her mouth.

"Shh, it's ok." She recognized the husky voice as Stefan's.

"I'm dealing with Damon." He promised her.

Both teens watched as Caroline dropped to the grassy ground lifelessly and then Damon buckled too, choking. Stefan let her go, grabbing her hand and gently pulling Charlotte over towards the fallen duo.

"Come home with me?" he asked her, picking up Damon. "I need to explain some things to you,"

Charlotte nodded her head, but before following, sent a text to her sister to come outside, hoping she would find Caroline. Once she was finished, she left with Stefan, glad that the Damon problem was finally solved.

When they made it to the boarding house, Charlotte followed Stefan down the stairs, where he stopped at what looked like a dungeon. He put Damon in the room, slipping off the gaudy ring that adorned his finger and locked the door on the way out.

"All these secrets, all these lies," she muttered, knowing that Stefan could hear her, "my head feels like it's about to explode."

Stefan just gave her a soft smile, grabbed her small, smooth hand with his own, and led her back up the steps and into the living room. When she sat down, she slipped off her heels, lifting up to fold her legs underneath her. Then she started to speak again,

"For a minute, I almost felt sorry for him," she whispered, looking at Stefan. He gave her a look for her to continue, not knowing what she was speaking of.

"Earlier, he talked about Katherine, and you could just see that he loved her so much, that he was so torn over her death," she stopped, taking in a deep breath, "But then I saw what he did to Caroline and…"

Charlotte just trailed off, not knowing what to say, but Stefan, noticing the undecided look that was placed on her face, rested his hand on her shoulder, finishing for her,

"He's a monster Charlie, he doesn't care who he hurts as long as he gets what he wants in the end," he told her.

And in that moment, nobody in the house realized that Damon was so close to getting what he wanted; an amber looking crystal that would soon find it's way back into a Bennett witch's hand.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfit link in profile.**

Sorry, no Niklaus dreams this chapter. But it seems like Stefan and Charlotte are becoming partners in crime.

I know it seems like Charlotte hates Damon but in later chapters I want them to kind of form a really deep friendship because Damon needs a friend; I hate how he's always second choice for everyone!


	7. Chapter 6: Lost Girls

**A/N: I skipped the episode _You're Undead to Me, _so Charlotte was M.I.A for the Sexy Suds Car Wash and her sister discovering Stefan's secret. I've also decided which episodes I'll skip over.**

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Chapter 6: Lost Girls

After Stefan brought Charlotte home the night of the Founder's Party, she seemed to have fallen ill. She hated being sick because she always seemed to miss out on all the fun. She spent her days and nights trying to sleep off the cold. But she didn't mind; because when she slept she saw _his_ face.

While she was busy dreaming, Stefan was telling Elena the of his and his brother's past with Katherine at the old Salvatore estate, the story that Charlotte already knew, and retrieving Damon's daylight ring.

_She ran, an older boy running after her and the younger one. All three were laughing; chasing each other around through the meadow, and the only other sound that could be heard was that of the rushing stream that was nearby._

_The brown haired man reminded Charlotte of her love, the brothers so different in appearance but so alike in personality; both boys were far too arrogant for their own good; they had much more arrogance between the two of them than a thousand men could hold all together. _

_She turned her head, seeing that the Kol was gaining on her and Henrik. She started to sprint faster but was momentarily distracted when she saw the young boy trip over his own feet, landing roughly on the ground. But that was all the chance Kol needed; he rushed towards her grabbing her from behind and tossed her over his broad shoulder._

_Charlotte giggled, squirming in his grip, trying to break free. Henrik's own laughter rang throughout the open air taking notice to the direction his older brother was carrying her in._

"_Kol!" Charlotte shrieked, pounding her small fists on his back, but this only caused him to raucously guffaw._

_Suddenly, Charlotte found herself soaring through the air, a slapping sound heard as her body made impact with the water. She rose from underneath the surface, gasping for breath, and shot Kol an icy glare._

_She was drenched; her skirts sticking to her skin. Kol made his way to her shivering form to help pull her from the water to dry land. But at the last minute, she gave his hand a sharp tug, making him lose his balance and fall face first into the stream._

"_Charlotte," he yelled, sputtering out the cold liquid. _

_Charlotte only howled with laughter, picking up her dripping skirts and running through the village to get home. She scurried past a confused Esther, who was wondering why her clothes were wet and made her way to the library._

_When she arrived, a fire was already roaring with orange and yellow flames; its warmth enveloping the entire room as well as her chilled body. She quickly made her way forward, failing to notice the other person that stood in the room with her._

_He watched her from the corner as she made her way to stand in front of the fire, hands outstretched to grasp some of its heat, her skirts clinging to her luscious hips.  
_

_The man quickly shut the door and locked it before making his way to the beautiful girl, wrapping his strong arms around her from behind, not caring that her wet clothes were already soaking through his own. He was satisfied when he felt her shiver, knowing that it wasn't from her being cold, but because of his touch._

"_Niklaus," she whimpered as the blue-eyed man trailed open mouthed kisses from behind her ear and down her throat to the base of her neck. "You must stop; someone could walk in and see us!"_

_He just nibbled softly on her skin, slowly beginning to untie the strings that held her dress together, murmuring sweet nothings into her ear. His warm breath causing her to shutter and her skin to break out into goose bumps._

"_The doors are locked love; we best get you out of these wet clothes, we wouldn't want you to catch a cold." He told her gently moving her straps from her shoulders._

_And Charlotte's dress fell to her feet, leaving her body bare for Niklaus' eyes to feast upon._

Charlotte shot up from her bed, being awoken from her dream by a loud pounding on the front door. She crawled from the comfort of her warm blankets, fixing her pants along the way and put on her slippers. She walked down the stairs to see Vicki Donovan pushing past her brother and making her way to the kitchen.

The Gilbert siblings followed after and witnessed her rummaging through the refrigerator. Charlotte turned towards Jeremy, seeing a weird expression planted on his face.

"Jer? What the hell is going on?" she asked in a hushed whisper. She was thoroughly confused.

"I don't know? She just came in here and started eating our food. I think she's on something." Jeremy told her. Charlotte raised an eyebrow before telling her brother to call Matt, and made her way over to Vicki.

"Vicki, what happened?" She asked the distraught girl, trying to soothe her. But she couldn't make anything out seeing as all Vicki could do was moan and mumble.

When the doorbell finally rang, signaling that Matt had arrived, Charlotte ran to the door inviting him in before leading him to his sister.

"What's she on?" Matt asked. Jeremy and she could only shrug.

"I...I don't know." Jeremy said to Matt. Matt nodded and then walked cautiously to Vicki. He kneeled down next to her since she was sitting on the ground, and took her sunglasses off. She squinted her eyes, trying to block out some of the light that poured in from the windows.

"Hey Vick; how you doing?" Matt asked her softly.

"No good Matty. I hurt." Vicki replied.

"Ok. Where's it hurt?" Matt asked her. Vicki then pointed to her gums? What was going on?

"My gum's, my jaw hurts; my gums. There's something in my gums and it hurts." Vicki said crying as she was touching her gums. Charlotte had a look of concentration on her face, trying to figure out what was happening. She then asked Vicki where she was before coming over and she said a boarding house. Charlotte knew that something was totally wrong. _Damon._

Charlotte needed to call Stefan.

"No just leave me alone!" Vicki said sternly, when Matt tried to touch her.

"Come on Vick, don't be like that." Matt said to her, trying to put a smile on his face for his sister. "Let's get you home."

"Just turn it off!" Vicki yelled.

"Turn what off?" Jeremy asked.

"The talking, the shouting, just turn it off!" Vicki said getting up and pushing Charlotte to the side.

Charlotte left the room quickly, running up the stairs to grab her cell phone before dialing Stefan's number as she walked back to the problem in the kitchen.

"Stefan!" She exclaimed once the ringing stopped and he answered, "Something's wrong, Vicki's here and she said she was at the boarding house, she's complaining about her jaw hurting!"

"I'll be right there," Stefan answered before hanging up the phone.

Just then she saw Vicki push Jeremy into the couch. Matt ran over to him, while Charlotte walked over to Vicki trying to calm her down.

"I'm sorry... I didn't..." Vicki began but she was cut off by Elena and Stefan walking through the door.

"Oh thank God," Charlotte mumbled under her breath.

"Charlie! What is going on?" Elena asked confused and now pissed.

"She's really messed up." Matt chimed in.

Charlotte looked over to Vicki to see Stefan holding her face and looking into her eyes; before he turned around to face the twins.

"Guys take her upstairs to bed. Shut the blinds, she's going to be ok." Stefan said pushing Vicki towards Matt and Jer. She walked over to Stefan, a hard look in her eyes.

"What's going on?" She asked him.

"She's transitio..." Stefan tried to say, but Elena cut him off with a shake of her head, she didn't want her sister to know.

"I thought we took care of Damon?" Charlotte asked, last time she checked, Damon was locked away in a cold stone room. Elena sent her sister a look, confused at her words.

"You knew?" she angrily asked her younger sister. But Charlotte didn't have time for that right now, she only gave her sister a look to shut her mouth, and turned back to Stefan.

"Damon got out, he must have gotten to her, and she's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet." Stefan said.

"He gave her his blood? Didn't he?" Charlotte muttered, dumbfounded.

"How does she do that?" Elena asked, wanting to know how to complete the transition.

"She has to feed on human blood." She answered for Stefan, making her sister gasp.

"And what if she doesn't?" Elena asked.

"She'll die." Stefan replied in all seriousness, looking in Charlotte's direction, knowing that this was what she was initially worried about.

"But she's upstairs with Jeremy right now." Elena sounded anxious.

"It's okay. She doesn't know what's happening to her yet." Stefan told her.

"So when exactly is she gonna know?" Charlotte decided to ask.

"Right now, she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice."

"The same choice you made?" Elena looked up at him, and Charlotte knew that Stefan had told her the same story he had told her the night of the game.

They sat down, a long silence taking over them when mammoth thuds came down the stairs. Vicki sprinted from the house quicker than ever at human speed, Matt running after her. Stefan turned to look at the girls, telling them that he could track her.

"Fix this," Charlotte sternly told him as he left through the front door. She had a lot to explain to her sister. They turned their heads to see Jeremy coming from the stairs, trying to go out the front door.

"I have to go too…" Jeremy told them, but both Charlotte and Elena grabbed him.

"What are you doing? I have to go look for her!" he exclaimed.

"The best thing you can do for Vicki is to stay here" Charlotte said to him. He walked away from them and into the kitchen. Charlotte decided that she and her twin could use this time to talk.

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your sister!" Elena all but growled; she was trying to keep her voice down so Jeremy wouldn't hear. "You knew that they were vampires, you knew that I liked Stefan…"

But Charlotte cut her off,

"It wasn't my secret to tell Elena, and you have no reason to be afraid of Stefan, he would never hurt you. Do you really think I would let him around you if I thought he was capable of doing that?" she asked, her voice somewhat harsh.

"This is like some big horror movie; vampires aren't supposed to be real." Elena whispered, her voice sad and in disbelief. All Charlotte could do was wrap her arms around her sister, stroking Elena's head as her body sagged from exhaustion. The information she had learned that day taking all the energy out of her.

The siblings, Jeremy included, sat around the living room, waiting for someone to call to tell them that they had found Vicki.

"Maybe we should check in with Matt" Jeremy suggested.

"He will call when he finds her." Elena told him, and when Jeremy asked what they were supposed to do, she continued, "We wait, we are suppose to wait."

"I don't know what is wrong with her" Jeremy stated heartbroken.

Charlotte's heart started aching, she could see how much her little brother cared for Vicki, but she also knew that he could never be with her again. Vicki was a newly turned vampire, and she would be incredibly dangerous; Charlotte wouldn't risk her little brother getting hurt, or worse, killed. And so she lied,

"She'll be fine. It'll all be fine"

She was glad the door bell rang, getting up and out of the gloomy room to answer it. Jeremy followed close behind, hope written across his face; he was wishing it was Matt with news of Vicki.

Charlotte opened the door to find the man that she and Stefan had locked away just days prior. She snarled at him and tried to slam the door, but he shoved it open with his strength.

"Jeremy, Elena, go upstairs!" she told them firmly, wanting to protect her siblings. Jeremy didn't question her and disappeared up the stairs, but Elena stayed where she was standing.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, trying to steady her wavering voice. As strong as she appeared on the outside, on the inside she was shaking with fear; she knew what Damon was capable of. Charlotte turned around to see Elena, looking just as afraid as she felt.

"Your afraid of me Elena, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess….Stefan finally fessed up," he told her sister, and then turned back to face her, "But you pretty girl, you already knew. You helped him lock me up."

"Get out of here!" Charlotte rumbled. Damon noticed that her hazel eyes started to glow with gold flecks. She wasn't human, that much he could tell. But just what was she?

"No need to be rude, I'm just looking for Stefan," He looked between the twins, "I always liked twins."

"May I come in? Oh wait…" He continued, stroking his chin, "of course I can."

Damon smirked and stepped over the threshold.

"I've been invited." he told the sisters.

Charlotte took a step back to stand in front of Elena as he came in and closed the door.

"We can cut to the chase if you want; I'm not going to kill you two right now….that wouldn't serve my greater agenda." He stepped closer, looking between them. He pointed at Elena,

"So, where's Stefan?" he asked.

Before Elena could answer however, Charlotte cut her off.

"He is out looking for Vicki, trying to clean up _your_ mess." She told him coldly, she then turned, telling Elena to go to the kitchen and for once she listened. Charlotte walked over past Damon to the front door, roughly pulling it open.

"You can leave now!" she told him, motioning to the open space. The door was suddenly closed and she was slammed against the wall next to it. Damon roughly grabbed her hair, tilting her head and shoving his face into her neck. He inhaled deeply.

"What are you?" He looked up at her, a dazed look in his eyes, blood lust caused by her tantalizing aroma. She stared back at him, eyes like knives.

"You just have to destroy everyone's lives because you're not satisfied with your own!" She stated harshly, her stare become that much harder.

He stroked her cheek softly with the back of his hand,

"That girl is going to thank me for what I did to her," he told her, taking a step back.

"Did you thank Katherine?" He stared at Charlotte for a moment, his eyes dropped and then reached back to hers, he went to rush towards her but before he reached, Charlotte's eyes went completely gold. Damon dropped to his knees, grabbing at his chest; it was like his undead heart completely stopped functioning.

Charlotte was startled; not knowing what was going on and blinked her eyes a few times. The pain in his chest stopped abruptly and Damon looked up at her, her eyes going back to their normal color. He knew she didn't know what had transpired from the apprehensive look planted across her delicate features, and Damon decided he needed to find out the mystery that was Charlotte Gilbert.

"Tell my brother I'm looking for him." He stated opening the door and was about to slam it closed before turning back around to face her.

"Oh and tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house." He told her with a knowing smirk on his face.

When he closed the door behind him, Charlotte slid to the floor, heart pounding in her chest. She was terrified and her mind was reeling from what had just transpired between her and Damon; wondering what had caused him such immense pain.

_Did I cause that_, she questioned herself.

But her thoughts were cut short when she heard a knock on the door. Elena came running from the kitchen throwing open the door. She lifted herself from the ground, seeing it was Stefan. She gave him a gentle smile, and headed for the stairs knowing that he and Elena needed a moment together to speak. Before she closed her bedroom door she heard Elena tell Stefan that she couldn't be with him anymore.

Hearing her sister sobbing after Stefan had left; Charlotte hastily made her way to her sister's bedroom, crawling in bed with her like when they were little, and wrapped her arms around Elena, holding her sister as she cried herself to sleep, and soon after she closed her eyes, succumbing to her own exhaustion.

"_Okay darling," a man said, towering over a young girl._

"_I can't Elijah!" her mesmerizing voice exclaimed as she turned away from him. "I'll never learn it."_

_The man named Elijah let out a soft chuckle at the girl's flustered appearance. He had been trying to teach her for the whole day how to dance, but she just wasn't getting it. He gently turned her back around to face him, an amused smirk taking place on his lips as he saw her full lips in a pout._

_She looked up at him, with a huff, holding her hands out to him. He grabbed one of her small soft hands with his own large rough one and placed it delicately on his shoulder while placing his own on her slim waist. He then grabbed the other, holding it firmly in his own before taking form._

"_Now," he said, "step back with your right and then over with your left."_

_She did as she was told, and things went smoothly for a few moments as he directed her, before she again stepped on his foot. He softly sniggered at her,_

"_Haven't you ever heard that patience is a virtue," Elijah stated, looking down at the girl, who only glowered up at him._

"_Yes," she snarled, rolling her eyes, "And it's obviously one that I don't hold."_

"_Now Charlotte, sweetheart, you aren't acting much like a lady should," she heard his voice, which at the moment in the mood she was in, was very annoying to her. She turned her head in the direction she heard the voice come from._

"_Niklaus, don't you have someone else to pester?" She questioned snottily, she really didn't want an audience at the moment to see her keep fumbling with the dance._

"_I've come to help you," he told her, walking over to where she stood and taking her from his brother's arms and into his own. Elijah, knowing Niklaus would want to be alone with Charlotte, gave the duo a soft smile before walking away. _

"_Embarrassed to mess up in front of me love?" he questioned. Charlotte hung her head, not wanting him to see that she was. Even though she knew nothing could shatter his love for her, she felt like she would disappoint him. All the girls in the village could dance, but she was one that wasn't exactly graceful. He could have anyone, and he chose her._

_He lifted her chin so that his blue eyes could meet her bright hazel ones that were shining with the reflection of the warm sun. He gently placed her hands in the right position and lifted her so her toes were on top of his own; then the two lovers danced. _

_They were so invested in one another, having only eyes for each other, that neither noticed the group of siblings huddled together, not far from where the twirled about. Looking on at the two teenagers, the three brothers and one sister knew that the love these two held for each other, was one that had the power to span thousands of lifetimes._

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfit link in profile.**

The dreams showed pieces of Charlotte's relationship with Kol and Elijah. Elena finally discovers the secret and she doesn't take it too well. And Charlotte hurts Damon while not even attempting to!

If anyone has an idea for what they want to see in a dream just let me know. Drop a review? Yay or nay? :)


	8. Chapter 7: Haunted

_I'm hoping to be finished with season 1 chapters sometime next week or the week after. I'll try to get out at least 2 chapters a day so we can move onto Elijah and Klaus drama! So 6/30 by the latest!_

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Chapter 7: Haunted

The sun shined through the open curtains, waking the sisters from their sleep. The two just looked at each other, no words needed to be spoken. Charlotte gave Elena a soft nod of her head, a half smile on her lips.

Elena got up and entered the bathroom and Charlotte could hear her speaking with Jeremy, who was already in there brushing his teeth.

"You're up early. Where are you going?" Elena asked him

"Police station is organizing a search party for Vicki so..." He trailed off.

Charlotte rose from the bed and walked into the bathroom as well, wanting to brush her teeth. Elena placed some toothpaste on her brush and handed it to her, repeating the same action to her own.

"Shouldn't you be going to school?" Charlotte questioned, although it came out muffled seeing as she had her toothbrush hanging from her mouth.

"You're kidding me right?" Jeremy asked her, a look of disbelief on his face. He couldn't believe his sister would ask such a thing.

"You shouldn't skip school." Elena told him, trying to be sensible. "That's what cell phones are for."

"Your lips keep moving. I don't know why." He rolled his eyes before walking back into his room shutting the door.

"Just let him go Lena." Charlotte told her, seeing that she was about to go after him. "He's not going to listen to us."

She then turned to start the shower, while Elena stood there hoping for her to say something else, but when she didn't she just left the bathroom so that her sister could get clean.

Once Charlotte washed away the stress of the past week she toweled off, wrapping it around her and made her way to her room to get dressed for school. While she was changing into a pair of true blue skinny jeans and a light purpled gray long sleeve crew neck shirt, her phone started beeping.

She hopped on one foot, trying to get her heels on, over to her night stand, picking up her phone and seeing a text from Stefan.

_We found her. _It read. It was short, simple and to the point making Charlotte let out a sigh of relief. Elena must have got the same message because not even a second later, she came stumbling through Charlotte's door announcing that Vicki was at the boarding house.

Charlotte grabbed her bag before following Elena down the stairs and out the door. They quickly made their way to the boarding house. Knocking on the door and waiting for it to be opened by Damon himself.

"Where's Stefan?" She asked him, no emotion in her voice.

"And good morning to you little Miss. 'I'm on a mission'." He replied, taking a step forward. Charlotte pushed Elena to go into the house while she stayed put.

"How can you be so arrogant and glib after everything that you've done? You've ruined people's lives Damon and you don't even care." She asked/stated her voice rising with each word.

"And how can you be so brave and so stupid to call a vampire arrogant and glib?" He raised his eyebrows, looking at the mysterious girl that was in front of him standing tall.

"You can't keep doing this Damon," Charlotte said, looking up at him and shook her head, walking past him and into the house where she heard the beginning of Stefan and Elena's conversation.

"What am I suppose to do? Because I am lying to everyone that I care about, what is going to happen to her?" she said to him.

"I am going to keep her here with me until I know that she's safe." Stefan told her sister, and turned his head, seeing Charlotte walk into the room.

"Hi," he told her smiling tiredly.

"Hey partner," She said, hoping to make him laugh and was glad it worked when she heard him let out a low chuckle.

"How long is that?" Vicki appeared at the top of the stairs, wanting an answer to Stefan's statement.

"We can talk about that later." Stefan told her.

"Hey, Vicki, how are you?" Elena asked her.

"How am I? You're kidding right?" Vicki scoffed in her direction.

"No need to be rude" Charlotte snarled, taking a step closer to Elena, even though she wouldn't really be able to do anything to stop Vicki if she attacked her sister.

Stefan slid a mug across the table towards Vicki, Elena and her watching as he did this.

"Coffee is our friend." Stefan explained to the newborn vampire, "It's the caffeine; it circulates through our veins and warms our body so we're not so cold to the touch."

"Well, what if I wanna drink human blood?" Vicki asked.

"You're gonna have to learn to live with that urge and fight it on a daily basis; one day at a time." Stefan answered.

"Oh God, don't start with the whole twelve step thing... School counselor has been down that road, and it doesn't work for me." She explained fed up.

"It can work." Stefan nodded "It's your choice, Vicki."

"So you've never tasted human blood?" Vicki asked skeptical

"Not in a long time." Charlotte noticed Stefan looking at Elena out of the corner of his eye.

"How long?" Vicki kept prying.

"Year and years," Stefan answered her and then admitted that he wasn't proud of his past behavior.

"Does this sketchy feeling ever go away?" She asked, "It's like I have a massive hangover. This daylight thing is a bitch!"

"I need more blood! Where is your bathroom? I need to pee, why do I need to pee? I thought I was dead" Vicki huffed and walked out of the room.

"I'm going to get her something to eat." Stefan said uneasily to both girls, "I'll be quick."

Charlotte and Elena turned to each other with clueless expressions; they both knew that they were in way over their heads.

"False alarm, my body is feeling really funky, it's a good funk, but it's weird," Vicki came back into the room. She picked up her phone and dialed, putting it to her ear.

"Who are you calling?" Charlotte asked her, eyes turning to stone. She already knew the answer to her question.

"Jeremy." Vicki stated.

"Vicki, you can't see Jeremy anymore." Elena told her stepping forward, Charlotte putting a hand on her arm to stop her.

Vicki stared at her and rolled her eyes,

"Oh come on, don't you start; I am going to see whoever I want to see." She stated.

That one statement caused Charlotte to blow up,

"You're not going to see him anymore Vicki! Do you not understand that you could hurt him! What will you do when that happens? Huh?" She questioned her. Charlotte was going to try with all her might to keep the two teens away from each other.

"I would never hurt Jeremy!" She told the Gilbert twins firmly, but the sisters just shook their heads, they knew that was a promise Vicki wouldn't be able to keep.

"I know you think that, but we can't take that risk, you're going to have to let Jeremy go now." Elena told her.

Charlotte face scrunched up, a pained look taking over. She knew that Vicki would not take Elena's words well, but she needed to hear the truth.

"Oh really, and how long have you been preparing the 'you're not good enough speech'?" she asked the girls.

"All she trying to say Vicki, is that Jeremy in not getting involved in any of this! We mean it!" Charlotte growled at her.

"Or what?" Vicki asked threateningly, Charlotte made a move to walk in front of Elena seeing the look on the vampire's face; she'd do anything to protect her family. But she wasn't fast enough. Vicki blurred forward wrapping her fingers around Elena's throat and slammed her up against the wall.

"Let's get one thing straight you perky little bitch," she snarled staring directly at Elena.

"You had my brother whipped for fifteen years, _fifteen years_! And then you dumped him. When I look at you, that is _all_ I see, and I'm going to see Jeremy whenever I want to see Jeremy, and I won't think twice before ripping your little heads off, you got it?" Vicki finished looking in her direction.

Charlotte was shaking with anger seeing her sister struggle for air. She bowed her head, closing her eyes, and took a deep breath trying to calm herself. When she lifted her head back up and opened her eyes, Elena was startled; gone were her sister's hazel orbs; in their place were bright and burning gold eyes.

Vicki was suddenly thrown from Elena and when she landed she stood and disappeared. Elena dropped to the floor, holding her bruised throat and taking deep breaths. She didn't understand what had happened, but neither did Charlotte for she buckled to the floor, exhausted.

Elena made her way over to her younger sister, wrapping her arm around her shoulders,

"What was that!" she questioned.

"I don't know!" Charlotte answered in a shaky voice filled with terror.

She looked up and Elena stared into her sister's hazel eyes that were glistening with unshed tears. And for the first time, Elena noticed that her usually strong sister's shield was down, and Charlotte's vulnerability that she kept locked away was finally being seen. She didn't know what was happening to her.

Stefan finally returned with the blood, walking into the hall to see the twins huddled together on the floor, looking around, he didn't see Vicki anywhere.

"What happened?" he asked them. Elena stood up, helping Charlotte from the floor before turning to Stefan.

"She threatened me!" Elena stated angrily, beginning to massage her neck again. She decided to leave out the part about Charlotte; not until they both figured out what was really going on with her.

"Hey guys, I'm going to head out," Charlotte told them, Elena wanted to protest. They needed to talk about what she just witnessed, but she knew they would talk about it later.

Once Charlotte asked Stefan if he would make sure Elena had a way home, she exited the boarding house, heading to her car, still slightly put off by what had happened just moments before.

"Leaving so soon?" someone called from behind her. She turned around to see Damon.

A snarky remark was forming on his lips until he caught the look on her face. Her attitude was a complete 180 degrees from when she first arrived at the house; she looked utterly broken.

Damon approached her slowly and for a brief moment, Charlotte swore she saw a look of concern cross his face. Damon liked this girl; she had spunk, she stood up to him and no matter what he did, or said, she never backed down.

He lifted his hand when he reached her, gently cupping her cheek. She momentarily flinched, and this time, Damon didn't hide his worried look.

"What happened?" he asked her. "What's wrong?"

Charlotte's eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"It happened…Vicki she…last night…I was angry…" She kept stumbling over her words, too upset to be able to form a complete sentence.

"Hey, hey, pretty girl; take a deep breath; calm down." Damon said to her soothingly and she did as he told before speaking again.

"What happened, Damon? Last night? I was afraid you were going to hurt me and then you just slumped to the ground," she exclaimed, "and just now, with Vicki, she made me sooo angry and the next minute she was flying across the room!"

Damon could smell Charlotte's scent ripening; her heart pumping at a fast rate from her anxiousness. He went to speak but she cut him off,

"I did that Damon! I caused those things to happen! What's wrong with me?" And then her tears finally fell, slowly making trails down her reddened, flustered cheeks.

Damon was speechless. He couldn't explain to her what was happening to her, what was going on, because he himself had no idea. He could only look at the broken girl in pity, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears.

Charlotte finally realized who she was pouring her heart out to; Damon. He was the man who was out to destroy Stefan, the man who hurt her best friend, who turned her brother's girlfriend and her friend's sister into a blood thirsty monster. Where ever he was, misery seemed to follow.

She pulled away from him abruptly and got into her car, and looking through the rearview mirror, her eyes met Damon's clear blue ones one last time before he disappeared from her sight.

When Charlotte finally pulled up at Mystic Falls High, she checked her face in the mirror to make sure it didn't appear that she had been sobbing moments before. As she exited the driver's side, she spotted Bonnie and Caroline from afar. A happy sigh was released from her mouth; she could really use her best friends right now.

She made her way over to them to see Bonnie pulling the costume Caroline had picked out for her out of a bag.

"Seriously," Bonnie asked as she grabbed the pointed witch hat, giving Charlotte an 'are you serious look'. She just laughed thinking how Caroline had hit the nail on the head.

"Come on," the blonde complained, "Can someone please be excited that it's Halloween? I just wanna have fun, you know; just some silly, Damon free, fun!"

Bonnie reached into the bag again and pulled out a familiar amber colored pendant.

"Hey, isn't this the one you got from Damon?" she asked Caroline.

"Yep," She nodded, "Wear it. Toss it. I don't care. I just want it gone." She explained carelessly.

"Hey, have you seen Elena?" She asked looking towards Charlotte and Bonnie, "Do we know what she's wearing? What are you even wearing Charlie?"

"She was with Stefan the last time I'd seen her," Charlotte told her, "And no I don't know what she's wearing, but I, darling, am going to be a pretty little ballerina."

The girls laughed as Charlotte attempted to do a pirouette, but stumbled, seeing as she was wearing heels and then they made their way to class hearing the bell ring, bickering with each other along the way.

Later on that night, the Gilbert siblings were sitting around the kitchen, Charlotte already dressed in her White Swan costume, and with Elena's help her hair was tied back into a secure bun.

"You've got to call me Vick; I don't get it, what's going on with you? Just call me please!" Jeremy pleaded into the phone, causing Charlotte and Elena to exchange looks of concern.

"Hey, so umm, do you want to hang out tonight?" Elena asked him. "We can go to the Halloween thing at school with Charlie; could be fun."

"Cool, sure, sounds fun!" Jeremy replied with no enthusiasm in his voice.

"Listen, I know your upset about Vicki, I heard she called Matt, but you _can't_be with her, she needs to get better." Charlotte said to him firmly, "The best thing you can do for her is let her go!"

"What does that even mean 'let her go'?" His face scrunched up in perplexity, "Oh yeah, because we're such experts in letting go right?"

Charlotte gave her sister a look, telling her with her eyes to back her up.

"I know you may not see it, but trust us Jer, it's for the best!" Elena finally said.

A flash on anger came upon his face, and he started taking long strides towards his older twin sisters,

"For months after mom and dad died I felt like crap, like nothing really even mattered, and all of a sudden I get these moments when things started to feel a little bit better; and Vicki was in every one of them. So you may not see it, but trust me, keeping me away from her is not for the best!" He exclaimed his face turning upset, and walked away from them, heading out of the kitchen.

Elena turned to Charlotte, thinking about how to approach what had happened at the boarding house earlier in the day.

"So…do you wanna talk about what happened earlier?" she finally asked her younger sister.

"Not now, later; alright? I just want a fun night with the girls." Charlotte smiled widely at Elena, "No supernatural business, just us girls; like old times!"

And as they chatted and laughed aimlessly, neither girl knew that they were going to get the complete opposite of what they were hoping for in the coming hours.

The trio finally made their way to the school, and was approached by Matt.

"You went with last years costume too." Matt pointed to his doctor's costume that went with Elena's nurse one.

"I didn't know I was coming till a little while ago." She told him, defending her choice of attire.

"Me neither," Matt nodded, "And you Charlie, don't you make a pretty ballerina."

Charlotte laughed, giving Matt a Plié, meaning it as a curtsy, and thanked him. If she was going to dress as a ballerina, she was going to play the part.

"And you're going as... you." He stated looking at Jeremy, causing the 15 year old to scoff and walk away.

"He's not talking to us right now." Elena informed Matt, "We got into a fight."

"Yeah, I got into it with Vick when she got home. I'm trying not to smother her tonight, but part of me didn't want to let her out of my sight." He informed the girls.

"She's here?" Charlotte questioned, the color in her cheeks paling.

"Yeah, you can't miss her." Matt smirked "She's a vampire."

"What?" She choked on air.

"It's her costume." Elena hissed, elbowing her in the ribs. She then looked around them, "Where did Jeremy go?"

"Elena, what's the matter?" Matt asked worried.

Charlotte started looking around, frantic. She needed to find Jeremy.

"We've got to go." Elena told Matt squeezing his hand gently, before promising that she'd catch up with him later. Charlotte gripped her hand tightly and pulled her away.

"I'll go look for him this way. You go look for him that way." She said to Elena and turned running out the door. She only started to run faster when she heard Jeremy scream and pushed her way out of the back doors of the school.

Walking out into the lot, Charlotte heard Jeremy screaming for Vicki to stop. She noticed a plank of wood lying around and grabbed it before rounding the corner.

"Vicki, no!" She screamed.

Vicki turned with fury, causing Jeremy to tumble to the ground. She started stalking towards the older girl, and Charlotte tried to stay strong, hitting the newborn vampire as she came close enough, but she didn't predict that the board would snap in half from the force. Vicki didn't even flinch and it only caused her to become more furious.

She grabbed Charlotte by her shoulders, and roughly shoved her to the ground, causing the girl to groan in pain when she landed. She was getting pissed. She tried to stand back up on her unsteady feet and witnessed Stefan slamming Vicki into one of the buses.

Vicki however, used her newfound strength to shove the older vampire away and disappeared; no one seeing where she had gone.

"Go!" Stefan ordered both teens, "Get inside!"

Charlotte quickly ran to Jeremy, tightly grabbing hold of his arm and pulled him towards the school doors. Jeremy was ripped from her arms suddenly and she clenched her eyes shut in pain. A pair of razor sharp teeth tore into her slender neck, eliciting a blood curdling scream from within her.

Her eyes flashed gold, and Vicki suddenly stopped. Charlotte turned, only to stumble back when she saw part of the wood plank she had broken earlier, piercing through Vicki's chest. Stefan was standing behind her, a look Charlotte had never seen before on his face.

He looked down at her to see the gold slowly flaking away, her eyes returning to their normal dewy hazel. She looked empty. Stefan slowly made his way around Vicki to help her up.

Spending so much time with her, he had become familiar with her scent; so the blood that flowed freely from her neck didn't bother him much anymore.

Charlotte's mind was reeling; she didn't hear the sound of her brother's pleas for Vicki, or her sister rushing out of the doors to her and Jeremy's aid.

"Charlie!" Elena exclaimed, running to her wounded sister. "Are you ok?"

When she didn't get a response, she lightly tapped her younger sister's cheek to snap her from the trance-like state she was currently in.

"I don't know." Charlotte whispered. She was so drained that she couldn't speak any louder.

"Get him out of here!" she told Elena and Stefan in a frail voice, she didn't want Jeremy to see Vicki like this.

"I'm not leaving you." Elena whispered in her ear, holding onto her tightly.

"I just need a minute to think." Charlotte told her, bringing a hand to her bleeding neck.

"Elena, she's been through a lot." Stefan told the older sister, taking her arm and pulling her away. He pulled out his phone and called someone, asking for their help. And then she was left in complete silence as they left.

She looked at the gray and desiccated body that lay in front of her. Vicki was gone, and that made her think of Matt. He was all alone now; what was her and Elena supposed to tell him. All of their relationships were beginning to become based on lies.

As Charlotte continued to cry, she didn't even hear the footsteps that were slowly approaching over her sobs. She looked up however when the pair of feet stopped in front of her.

"You should go." Damon said, his blue eyes refusing to meet her own orbs. "I got this."

"You did this." Charlotte hissed, her voice sharp, like thousands of knives. "This is your fault."

"You confuse me for something with remorse." Damon leered, "None of this matters to me, none of it."

A loud slap resonated around the parking lot. Damon hissed, baring his fangs in the teenage girl's direction.

"Bite me then Damon! People die around you." She shouted at him, her voice breaking again. "How could it not matter? It matters and you know it."

"You need to leave." He warned her.

"Your wounds are bleeding, and you need to leave." He demanded, licking his lips. He wanted a taste of her so badly. Charlotte just shook her head at him disgusted before turning and heading back inside the school.

She finally found Elena who was standing by the front waiting for her. She grabbed her sister's arm, wanting to leave, but was stopped by Matt who was approaching them, a worried look on his face.

"Have you seen...?" The question died out when he saw Charlotte covered in blood. "Whoa, Charlie, what happened?"

"Some idiot got her with fake blood." Elena replied, lying for her. She knew that if Charlotte spoke one word, she would break down. And she couldn't do that in front of Matt; he would ask questions.

"I'm looking for Vicki." Matt explained, "She totally bailed on me."

He looked around in hope that he would spot her. Charlotte had to turn away because her eyes were starting to swell with tears again.

"I don't know where she is." Elena lied for them again.

"Is this what I'm in for? A lifetime of worrying about her?" Matt asked.

"You're a good brother, Matt." Charlotte told him, finally speaking, patting his arm and giving him a watery smile. What she told him was the truth. He _was_ a great brother to Vicki.

"Maybe she went home." Matt said trying to be positive.

"Maybe…" She whispered trailing off feeling horrible. Vicki would never go home again. Matt would never _see_ her again.

Elena pulled Charlotte to their car, helping her distressed sister into the passenger seat. They both didn't speak; they didn't know what they could possibly say to make the other feel better.

"We just lied to his face Elena." Charlotte finally whispered distraught. She didn't think she would ever be able to face Matt again.

"I know." Elena nodded her own almond eyes starting to shine with tears.

"Are you ok…Back there you were..." She couldn't find the words to say. So she started the car, heading in the direction of home. Both sisters needed to speak with Jeremy.

When they made it home, Stefan was waiting on the porch swing, but the girls walked past him into the house to hear Jeremy's sobs from upstairs.

He was curled up on his bed, a look of absolute devastation on his face. It broke Charlotte's heart all over again to see him this way. He was in so much pain; she knew how much he cared for Vicki and knew that the traumatic events of the night were going to permanently affect him.

"Jer," she whispered softly, sitting beside him on the bed. Elena placed her hands on his shoulders as he just stared off with a blank face.

"Do you understand what happened tonight?" Elena asked.

"No, I don't understand, I mean, I know what I saw, but I don't understand" He told his sisters, tears like tiny rivers flowing down his face.

"She was going to kill Charlotte," Elena told him.

"And now she's dead. Vicki's dead!" He cried out, sobs causing his body to tremble.

"I'm so sorry Jer," Charlotte said to him, putting her arms around his body and pulling him into her chest.

"Make it stop, it hurts." He blubbered desperately.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay." She continued to whisper soothingly into his ear.

"Why does everybody have to die on me?" Elena then joined the hug as he continued to cry, until Charlotte couldn't take seeing her brother that broken anymore and she walked from the house to see Stefan.

She noticed how sad Stefan looked.

"Are you ok?" She asked him.

"I wanted to help her, but instead I…" He couldn't bring himself to continue, instead he asked about Jeremy.

"How's he doing?"

Elena walked out of the house and stood by her sister's side, answering for her.

"He's a mess, I don't want him going through this again; he's just a kid."

"What can I do? What can I do to help? I'll do anything," He pleaded with them.

"Can you make him forget?" Elena spoke up.

"Elena…" Charlotte started. She wouldn't allow her sister to take away Jeremy's free will; no matter how much he was hurting, it wasn't fair to him.

"Stefan, please, I don't know how he will ever get passed this, I just want him to forget everything that happened!" Elena implored to him.

"If I did it there is no guarantee that it would work, because of who I am, because of how I live, I don't have the ability to do it right." He told her.

"I can do it." they heard from behind, Charlotte slowly turned to see Damon; he walked up to the sisters.

"I'll do it, if that's what you want." He stared down at Elena.

Elena glanced at both Stefan and Charlotte.

"It's what I want." she told them

"It's what _we_ want." Charlotte said stepping forward, giving Elena a soft smile. She didn't want Jeremy to feel that much pain again; she couldn't witness him spiral any deeper than he already was.

They turned back to Damon and he asked them what they wanted Jeremy to know.

"I want you to tell him, that Vicki left town and she's not coming back. But he shouldn't look for her or worry about her; he is going to miss her, but it's for the best." Charlotte told him shakily looking in Elena's direction to see if she approved.

Once she nodded, Damon turned and walked into the Gilbert house. Elena went and sat next to Stefan while Charlotte sat down on the steps sighing. She just wanted this terrible night to end already.

She kept trying to reassure herself that she and Elena were doing the right thing with Jeremy. They were getting rid of his suffering, wiping away all the pain he was feeling from his memory. It needed to be done. And it was.

"It's done." Damon stated, pulling Charlotte from her thoughts. She stood up, but before entering the house, put her delicate hand on his shoulder, giving him a soft tiresome smile as a thank you for what he did for she and her sister.

She made her way up to Jeremy's room to check on him.

"You okay?" she asked him, giving him a small closed mouth smile.

"Yea, I'm good. You?" he replied, asking her back.

"I'm fine." She told him before bidding him goodnight and walking into her room to go to bed.

She quickly changed from her costume and into pajamas, walking into the bathroom to tend to her neck that was still bloody. She felt a light breeze and gasped, looking up into the mirror to see Damon standing behind her.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked. She was exhausted and she didn't want to deal with anything else tonight.

He tenderly turned her around and lifted her up onto the bathroom counter. He then, as gently as he could, removed the bandage she had placed on the bite mark. Looking down at her, he raised an eyebrow as if asking for permission.

Charlotte was utterly baffled; she had no idea what he was implying, but then saw him lift his wrist.

"Vampire blood. It will heal you." He stated, she nodded her head, wanting the mark gone. People would ask questions if they saw it.

"Your not gonna kill me after, are you?" she muttered, asking him with a mocking tone. Even though he had helped Jeremy, she still wasn't too sure about him.

"Never," he whispered with promise, before bringing his wrist to his mouth and biting down on it.

And there they were; Charlotte sitting on the counter with Damon between her legs, his wrist held tightly in her hands as she slurped his blood into her mouth. Once the wound was healed, they said their goodnights, and Charlotte made her way into her bed and underneath the warm covers, completely exhausted.

Before she fell into a deep sleep, she swore she felt someone caress her alabaster cheek, and murmur the words 'I'm sorry' into her ear.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfits link on profile!**

In this chapter you get to see the beginning of Charlotte and Damon's rollercoaster of a beautiful friendship!

Charlotte and Elena will soon talk about Charlie's mysterious gold eyes and more Klaus dreams coming! Anyone have any preferences? Drop a comment :)

And question? Does Charlotte seem Mary Sue-ish? I took one of those quiz things and it said she was, but I don't really see it so tell me what you think!

Also how do you feel about her having dreams from her lifetimes before joining the Mikaelson's? Any ideas?

**Lourdes08**: _What is Charlotte?_

I'm making it so nobody really knows until Elijah comes to town because he knew her a thousand years ago and he's the only one that really knows her out of everyone. So they'll bond when he helps her uncover who she really is and how she's so important.

If you go back to the chapter where she joined the Mikaelson family, you'll see that Esther mentioned that she was powerful and that her destiny was great.


	9. Chapter 8: 162 Candles

Chapter 8: 162 Candles

The Gilbert family found themselves at police station to answer questions about Vicki; and that's exactly what Charlotte was doing now.

"Where did Vicki say she was going?" Sheriff Forbes, her best friend's mom, asked her about Vicki's disappearance.

"She didn't." Charlotte said, shaking her head.

"Did she tell her brother where she's going?" She asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Is there anyone I can talk to that may know what happened to her prior to her leaving town?"

"Stefan Salvatore might know."

"How would he know?" She questioned.

"Me and Elena, we were both worried about Jeremy. Him and Vicki were seeing each other and we didn't exactly think she was the best influence for him. So we asked Stefan for help and he said he would." Charlotte sounded like someone had just pressed play on a tape recorder. She was thanking God the woman that had known her since birth couldn't tell how rehearsed her answer had been.

"What was her behavior like those last few days before she left?" Sheriff Forbes continued to ask.

"She was all over the place; like she was coming down from a major binge weekend." She told her.

"Any signs of aggression? Or violence?"

"No." Charlotte answered. She hated lying.

"So you believe that Vicki has really left town?" Sheriff Forbes asked finally.

"Yes." Charlotte answered, relieved that the interrogation was finally done with.

"Alright, you can go. Thank you Charlie." She smiled sadly at her daughter's best friend and Charlotte nodded, exiting the office and stepping out to Elena. The sister's shared a smile and linked their arms, walking over to their aunt and brother who were waiting by the doors.

When they walked outside, the sisters saw Stefan waiting for them, but Charlotte thought that he needed to speak to Elena alone. So she gave his arm a reassuring squeeze and tossed a gentle smile his way.

"I'll meet you guys at the car." She told her sister, nudging her head in Stefan's direction, signaling her to talk to him and be nice, before she walked away following the rest of her family to wait by the car.

When they finally made it home, the sisters' bee lined it for the couch; Charlotte kicked of her heels and dramatically threw herself down on it making Elena laugh.

"Ughh," she moaned out, "So tired!"

She laid her head in Elena's lap once she was sitting, and looked up at her. She wanted to know what was said when she spoke to Stefan.

"Soooo?" she started, "Everything okay?"

"I told him I couldn't do it. Our relationship is making me lie to everyone and people just keep getting hurt. I can't handle it anymore." Elena professed, looking down with a sorrowful look on her face.

"Sorry," Charlotte whispered, grabbing her sister's hand and giving it a squeeze.

A few minutes of silence passed over them and was immediately broken when Aunt Jenna walked in.

"You're both wallowing." Jenna complained, seeing the miserable expressions that graced her nieces' faces.

"So are you." Charlotte stated matter-of-factly.

"My wallow is legitimate." Jenna replied in the same tone. "I was dumped!"

"Who cares, Logan was a jerk!" Charlotte muttered to her aunt, "You can do better,"

"Me and Stefan broke up." Elena replied, seconding her aunt.

"Yea, well, my man doesn't exist." She huffed out.

And so the three of them sat around, bickering about whose situation was worse.

"You didn't get a brush-off e-mail saying: 'I'm leaving town. See ya.'." Jenna rolled her eyes. Charlotte guffawed at her aunt's impersonation.

"Wanna keep it down over there," Jeremy called from behind them.

"Why?" Jenna asked, "What are you doing?"

"Homework." He replied shortly.

"Since when do you do homework?" Charlotte questioned her little brother, in a tone that sounded like she didn't believe him.

"I got to finish this. I'm way behind and I have a quiz tomorrow so..." He trailed off continuing to write on the sheet of paper.

The three girls shared the same expression, Charlotte covering her mouth and fighting the urge to laugh.

"What do you think?" Jenna asked the sisters.

"Alien." Elena shrugged.

"Some sort of replicate?" Charlotte then suggested.

"He can hear you!" Jeremy glared over in their direction.

Once they were finished teasing him, the twins made their way up to Elena's room, tossing themselves down onto her bed and crawling under the covers. They just stared up at the ceiling.

"Why exactly are we wallowing again?" Elena asked incredulously making Charlotte turn to her side to face her.

"Because you and Stefan can't be together because of this whole vampire thingy and because there is something seriously wrong with me." She stated, sounding so sure of herself.

"There's nothing wrong with you Charlie!" Elena told her, a fierce look in her eyes, "We'll figure it out, okay? Together."

She went to continue but they were interrupted by a knock on the door. It cracked open and both girls smiled seeing their best friend peek her head in. They felt like they hadn't seen her in ages.

"You two up?" she questioned, a cheery smile on her face.

"Nope." The sisters said at the same time.

"Why haven't you called me back?" She came over to Charlotte's side of the bed and looked at them sadly.

"I'm sorry." They said at the same time making them turn to look at each other, both holding their hands up to high five one another, "Twin power!"

"Are you two gonna stay in there forever?" Bonnie asked.

"Yup." It happened again.

"Move over." She said and Elena scooted so that Charlotte could give Bonnie space. Once they were all settled, each girl let out a collective sigh.

"I'm officially worried. What's going on?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm tired of talking." Elena said.

"And thinking." Charlotte added.

"Can I get the one line versions, so I can at least pretend to be helpful?" Bonnie asked.

"Stefan and I broke up."

"And I'm starting to question my mental health."

"Elena, I'm sorry, are you okay? Right, stupid question! But really Charlie you're just starting to question it now?" Bonnie teased laughing out, earning a pillow to the face from her best friend.

"I know I've been kind of M.I.A when you need me the most. I suck." She told them sighing.

"Wanna make it up to us?" Charlotte asked and Elena finished for her, "Take our minds off of everything."

Suddenly Bonnie was smiling and pulled herself from the bed to shut the window.

"Just remember, you asked for it." She proclaimed smiling on her way back over, picking up the pillow Charlotte had hit her with up off the ground.

She climbed on the bed again and Elena and Charlotte sat up. Bonnie grabbed the scissors that were on Elena's nightstand and began to cut the pillow open.

"Hey!" Elena shouted seeing the feathers fall from her once fluffy pillow.

Bonnie just shrugged at her and Charlotte laughed.

"Be patient."

"Okay." The sisters said, answering.

"I need to swear you both to secrecy." Bonnie told them. Elena turned to look at Charlotte, eyes wide. The Gilbert girls had enough secrets already.

"Uh it's kind of a bad week for that stuff." Charlotte stated.

"Swear. 'Cause I'm not supposed to be showing you this." She pleaded.

"Okay, I swear." Charlotte and Elena said.

Bonnie smiled at them.

"There's no windows open, right?" She asked.

"Right." They answered.

"There's no fan. No air conditioning."

"None, Bonnie what are you doing?" they asked together.

"Grams just showed me this. You're gonna love it. You ready?"

"Bonnie what's going on?" Elena asked.

Charlotte felt her mouth fall open as Bonnie placed her hand just above one feather and it levitated. She always knew Bonnie was a witch, Stefan had told her that he suspected she was one, but she had been waiting to see if it was exactly true.

She and Elena looked at each other in awe and then watched as their witchy best friend levitated more feathers. They were both amazed.

"It's true, you guys. Everything my Grams told me." She said.

"It's impossible." Elena said. Charlotte just elbowed her in the ribs, it wasn't impossible; if vampires were real then anything else could be as well.

"But it's _true_. I'm a witch." She said. Elena and Charlotte laughed.

"We believe you!" They said as she levitated all of the feathers and they started floating around the room.

"It's weird huh? After all this time, joking, about me being psychic. I really am a witch." Bonnie exclaimed. Before asking worriedly, "You don't think I'm a freak?"

"Oh course not!" Charlotte told her.

"No, Bonnie. But I'm confused. If your Grams told you to keep this a secret, then why are you showing us?" Elena asked.

"You're my best friends. I can't keep secrets from you two." She told them smiling.

_'Oh my god.' __Charlotte thought__. 'We need to tell her...'_

_Bonnie left soon after and Elena stood, pulling on her sister's arm._

_"Let's go, I need to see Stefan!" _

_And that's where they went._

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Charlotte asked, parking the car at the boarding house.

Elena nodded and opened her door getting out. Charlotte only shook her head, getting out of the car as well and followed her up to the house as she knocked. Elena needed her sister for support and so that she'd have someone with her in case she wanted to back out.

"Come in, it's open!" Charlotte and Elena exchanged a confused look at hearing the voice of a female.

Elena opened the door and they stepped inside, walking into the foyer. Charlotte walked into Elena as she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh my god! How...How? _Who_-?" A blonde woman with only a towel on was standing to the side. She was looking at Elena as if she were a ghost.

"I'm Elena. And this is my sister, Charlie." Elena told her, but Charlotte wasn't going to be so nice.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked growling.

"Lexi. Uh...a friend of Stefan's." The blonde said awkwardly.

"Is he here?" She asked.

"He's uh, in the shower. Do you want to wait?" Lexi asked.

"No, it's fine." Elena said, but Charlotte only handed her sister the keys and marched past the vampire, hitting her shoulder roughly as she went.

"I'll tell him you stopped by." Lexi offered to Elena, looking over her shoulder at the girl who was stampeding up the stairs.

Charlotte heard the car start signaling that her sister was leaving and rushed into Stefan's room.

Stefan, who was only standing in a towel, was startled as he turned and saw her, her face holding a deathly look.

"You want to explain to me what is going on? You and Elena _just _broke up, might I add, and now you're showering with a floozy!" She shouted at him.

Stefan walked forward putting his hands on her upper arms.

"Charlie, hey it's okay," he tried telling her.

Lexi walked into the room behind them. Charlotte turned her head to look at her and flashed a murderous look.

"You might want to put some clothes on, _Towel girl_!" she sneered at the blonde.

Stefan laughed.

"You think this is funny!" But he cut her off before she could finish.

"Lexi's a vampire. She's my oldest friend." He told the hazel eyed girl.

"Oh." And that was all Charlotte could say. She felt stupid for blowing up and thinking Stefan was sleeping with the girl when he was just with her sister a few hours before.

"Well you might want to tell Elena that. She just left," she told him before turning and muttering a quick apology to the blonde haired vampire for insinuating that she was a slut.

"You smell delicious!" Lexi declared, Charlotte just rose her brows, a dumbfound look on her face; the vampire was way off topic. Stefan shot her a look Lexi a look telling her to shut up.

"We're going to celebrate Stefan's birthday later tonight, at a place called The Grill?" Lexi told her, questioning herself if that was the name of the place.

Charlotte turned to look at Stefan,

"It's your birthday?" she asked, before smiling at him, "Well good! You can come pick me up for this party and while you're at it, speak to Elena and try to fix things."

She bid Stefan adieu and turned on her heel.

"Bye towel girl," she stated towards Lexi and walked from the room, hearing the blonde girl's laughter as she went. But as she walked along further down the hall and then down the stairs, she didn't hear Lexi questioning Stefan about Elena, and why she was an exact look alike to the psycho bitch who held his heart 145 years before.

Charlotte walked outside the boarding house and realized that she had no way home. As she was about to walk down the driveway, she saw Damon's car pulling in. She hadn't seen him since he had healed her the night of Vicki's death.

"Hey pretty girl, need a lift?" He asked cockily, pulling up along side her.

Charlotte thought for a second, contemplating the walk home. She looked down at her feet. Heels. Yep, she was gonna take that ride. She nodded her head and got in Damon's car. She kept waiting for him to start driving and after a few moments later when they were still parked there, she turned her head to look at him and saw that he was just looking at her.

She quirked an eyebrow, as if asking what the problem was.

"Seatbelt." He said, a smirk planted on his face.

Charlotte let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes at him; she didn't see him wearing one. As soon as the seatbelt clicked, Damon pulled away and started the route to the Gilbert house.

It was silent for a few minutes until Charlotte mumbled out a thank you.

"Thanks; for the ride, and the other night," She told him, looking out the window, before elaborating. "For Jeremy and for healing me,"

"Mmhmm…" he answered, eyes not looking anywhere but the road.

Charlotte hated the silence, it was anything but comfortable. Her phone beeped and she saw a text from Caroline telling her to be at Mystic Grill for a party she was throwing.

"So there's a party at the Grill later, you going?" She asked as they pulled up in front of her house.

"Oh I know. It was my idea." He told her and Charlotte knew that something was up. He was planning something.

"What are you planning?" She demanded. But Damon only leaned over her unbuckling her seat belt and opened her door.

"We're here." He whispered. He was so close to her face that she could feel his warm breath against her skin, making a shiver course through her body.

She got out of the car and turned back to him, slamming the door closed with force.

"See you tonight, pretty girl." He said, giving her a knowing smirk, leaning into the passenger seat before he pulled away from the curb, leaving Charlotte standing there; a pondering look marring her features as she wondered what was going to happen at this party.

Charlotte walked in the house checking the downstairs for Elena, but when she saw no sign of her older sister, she knew she had to be upstairs. She checked Elena's room and saw a lump on her bed, walking over and sitting on the edge, Charlotte ripped the blankets off her sister.

"She's _just_ his friend." She stated simply, once Elena opened her eyes and looked up at her. "She's apparently a _very_ _very_ old vampy girl."

Elena chuckled at how her sister described Lexi.

"Come on get up, we're gonna go party!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"You're going to the party? What happened to us wallowing?" she asked.

"I've decided to turn over a new leaf. Happy Charlie from now on; _it _doesn't happen when I'm happy!" Charlotte stated; she was right though, the strange things happened only when she let her emotions get the best of her.

"I'm just gonna stay home tonight. But you go. Have fun." Elena encouraged.

Charlotte huffed getting up from the bed and leaving the room. She backtracked and stood in her sister's doorway.

"You can't stay sad forever. Stefan's picking me up and you guys are gonna talk! And be nice to him, it's his birthday!" she told her.

She walked into her room and looked at the clock seeing she had only an hour before Stefan would show up to get her. She walked to her closet and rummaged around for a while to find something to wear. Clothes started flying over her shoulders, covering her bedroom floor as they landed.

"No…nope….nah….definitely not…yes!" she said as she finally found something.

She laid the outfit on the bed, bent down and picked up all the clothes into her arms and dumped them onto her closet floor before closing the door. She then turned and stripped from the clothes she had on, throwing them in her hamper and pulled on a denim button up tucking it into the gold embellished mini she pulled on next.

She heard the doorbell ring and she knew that Stefan was now here. She sat on her bed, forcing Elena to open the door and at least talk to him, and slipped on her black peep toe boots. She got up and started walking down the stairs.

"Well, thank you for coming by." She saw Elena nod at him.

"Hey, do you need a ride to the Grill tonight? I'm already taking Charlie." Stefan asked her politely, seeing Charlotte come down the stairs.

"Are you going to Caroline's party?" Elena sounded surprised, she knew he was picking her sister up but she didn't think that he would stay at the party.

"Lexi's dragging me." He shrugged, "And it's my birthday."

"Oh yea, Charlie mentioned that," She remembered, "Well, happy birthday then."

"Thank you." Stefan nodded appreciatively.

"I... I think I'm gonna stay in tonight." Elena told him.

"Are you sure, we'll give you time to change," Charlotte asked walking over to the couple, well the _broken-up_ couple.

"Well have... have a good night." Stefan told her sounding sincere, even though Charlotte could sense the sadness in his voice.

"You ready to go?" He asked, turning in her direction.

Charlotte nodded, telling her sister goodbye and made her way out to Stefan's car with him. He opened the door and helped her in before going around to the driver's side and getting in himself.

"Give her time Stef," Charlotte told him, as they left to the party. "She'll come around. She's just confused."

"She should be upset with me. She should be terrified of me." He said sadly.

"Why?" She asked. "Because you're a vampire?"

Charlotte then started laughing uncontrollably.

"Stefan, you have got to be the worst vampire ever. Aren't vampires supposed to be scary and all 'argh'? You're like _Little Bo Peep_. Only she's probably scarier." She told him. Stefan let out a chuckle. Charlotte was a very honest and outgoing girl and he liked that about her.

"So, how old are you turning?" She asked, changing the subject.

"17." He said, making Charlotte chuckle and slap his arm.

"Seriously, how old?" She giggled. He smiled.

"162."

"_Holy shit_." Charlotte muttered.

He laughed aloud and looked over at her, nodding.

"Dude, you are seriously one _old__ motherfu-_." But Stefan cut her off before she could finish her thought.

"Trust me...I know." He said. A few moments of just the radio and the hum of the engine went by until they arrived at the Grill. The duo parted as they walked through the doors with the promise that they would meet back up later.

Charlotte, spotting her two best friends, and walked over to them.

"Hey! Great party!" She said to Caroline once she reached them.

"Thanks!" She said and Bonnie smiled at her as a hello.

Caroline then turned to Bonnie.

"I've been looking for you. I'm totally sorry to do this. I know it's so Indian giver and, we're not supposed to say that anymore but I need my crystal back." She said looking at the amber pendant hanging off of the gold chain on Bonnie's neck.

"Why? You said you hated it." Bonnie scrunched up her face in confusion.

Charlotte began to wonder what was going on; Caroline hated the necklace, that's why she gave it to Bonnie in the first place.

"Then I saw it on you and I realize how great it is, and I've got three outfits I can coordinate it with so..." She said, but trailed off. It was clear that not even Caroline was convinced by her own lie.

"I can't give it back to you." Bonnie said, apologetically.

"Well, I didn't want to tell you this but I'm your friend; when you wear it makes you look fat. There I said it, but it's because I'm your friend so..." Charlotte knew that once again, Caroline had told a lie.

"Caroline! That was totally uncalled for." Charlotte scolded. Caroline looked desperate.

"I'm sorry Caroline, I can't." Bonnie said again.

"What do you mean, you can't? Bonnie, it's mine." She said, upset now.

"I thought it was Damon's?" Charlotte asked. Caroline hesitated, telling her exactly what she needed to know. Before she sighed, "He's the one who really wants it back, huh?"

Caroline looked panicked.

"No! Maybe...just..." Then she reached up to Bonnie's neck and tried to snatch the necklace off, but gasped as it zapped her, just as it had done to Damon.

"Are you wearing polyester?" Caroline asked, sounding almost offended.

Charlotte was appalled.

"Were you really gonna pull it from her neck? What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked, disbelievingly.

Bonnie looked hurt and disappointed all in one and walked away from the two, causing Caroline to storm off in another direction. Charlotte sighed. Damon was causing a rift between her friends. She went to turn and go find Stefan but bumped into someone; clenching her jaw tightly when she saw who it was.

"Well don't you look..." Damon eyed her up and down smirking. "Delicious."

"What do you want, Damon?" she inquired.

"What, no 'hello'?" He asked, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. A chill went up Charlotte's spine from his finger tips brushing against her face.

"Hello," She stated nonchalantly, before asking him why he wanted the crystal back so badly.

"Why? Do you have it?" He asked, his brows furrowing.

"Bonnie still has it. And trust me; she's not going to give it up that easily." She told him.

"I was afraid you'd say that. Now, if you'll excuse me." He gave her a fake smile and made a move to walk past, his eyes narrowing at Caroline who was standing just ahead.

Charlotte grabbed his arm before he was out of reach.

"Stay away from her." She warned, eyes flashing.

"Relax! I'm just gonna talk to her. We're friends now." He mocked, before pulling his arm from her grip and walking away.

She turned back around and spotted Stefan dancing with Lexi and made her way over to them.

"Wow, Stefan Salvatore _dancing_? Why I didn't know he knew how to have fun!" She mocked sending the last sentence in Lexi's direction.

"You have no idea what this boy can do," Lexi laughed, bumping her hip into Charlotte's before grabbing the younger girl's hand and twirling her around, "Dance with us!"

Charlotte and Lexi laughed and giggled, spinning and shimmying together on the floor.

"Come on Mr. Broody Pants, live a little! Have some fun, it's your birthday!" Charlotte teased in his direction before her and the older vampire each took one of his arms and twirled under them. Elena would love to see this side of Stefan; he was so carefree.

It was a few dances later when the trio was making their way off the floor, but Charlotte was stopped when someone spun her around and into their chest. She looked up and saw Damon's clear blue eyes.

"Dance with me?' He whispered to her over the loud music. She nodded her head and just like clockwork, a slow song came on.

Charlotte looped her arms around Damon's neck and his went securely around her waist, tugging her so close against his chest that no air could pass through. They were so close that he could feel her heart pounding in her chest against his.

She was so concentrated on every feature of his face that she lost her footing and almost toppled over, but was stopped from Damon's tightening grip.

"I'd never let you fall," he told her, and Charlotte's skin broke out into goose bumps from how intensely he was staring into her eyes.

"I think that's the most honest I've ever heard you sound." She softly whispered, her heart starting to get heavy, it was starting to feel like when she dreaming.

But the difference was that Damon was real, she knew his name and his face; she could never remember either about the man in her dreams, all she could remember were his eyes, and how much love they held for her.

Seeing her getting distracted Damon slowly cupped her cheek, lifting her head back to face him so he could look into her eyes.

"You okay?" he asked. The song was beginning to end, and he knew that their dance would too.

"You should show this side of you more often. Maybe then people would actually like you and not just put up with you," she told him, lifting up on her toes and touching her smooth lips to his cheek. She then brought her lips close to his ear, her warm breath causing him to shutter,

"Thanks for the dance, Damon."

And he watched her walk away, only looking back once, tossing him a gentle smile.

Damon couldn't, he was only in Mystic Falls for one reason, and he wouldn't allow himself to get side tracked by the beautiful girl. She never judged him, and that was what he liked, she was always honest with him and he never had to pretend. Charlotte never expected anything more than a vampire from him, and he was glad.

Charlotte's eyes lit up as she saw her sister from across the room.

"Elena!" She called and ran over to her. Elena laughed, seeing how excited her sister was and embraced her in a hug. "You came!"

Charlotte grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her over to a table that was close to the pool table where Stefan and Lexi were playing.

"Stay here; I'll go get us something to drink!" Charlotte exclaimed, walking over to the bar.

While she was waiting she turned and saw Damon at the table her sister was at. Elena's face held an expression of annoyance. The man knew how to get under everyone's skin. Once she received the drinks she walked back to the table and handed one to her sister.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you." She started saying to him. "What did you do to our brother?"

"I'm gonna need a less vague question." He said.

"When you did what you did to Jeremy's memory of Vicki, what else did you do to him?" Elena elaborated, knowing what Charlotte was speaking of.

"You both asked me to take away his memory of fangs and all the bad stuff. You wanted me to take away his suffering." He shrugged. Hazel and brown eye narrowed at him. He was acting so nonchalant about it all.

"But he's acting different. He seems okay with everything and a little too okay. I mean he's studying; he's not doing drugs; he's not drinking; are you sure you didn't do something else?" She asked. He looked at her and walked closer, softly grabbing her face in his hands.

"Charlie, I took away his suffering." He said, and then let go, walking away.

Charlotte turned to look at Elena, who was looking at her like she grew a second head.

"What was that?" Elena asked.

"What was what?"

"That! With Damon! You're dancing and smiling at each other and then he's all touchy with you." Elena stated.

Charlotte didn't know what to say, she didn't see anything wrong with it. So okay, Damon was a little psycho, and he ruined people's lives, but she could see something, he was different and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, he had feelings.

"I don't know Elena, there's just something about him. He's a mystery and I am taking it upon myself to solve him!" She told her sister, a far off look on her face.

She was saved from having to explain any further by Lexi who came over to them with four shots of tequila in her hands.

"For you, pretty girl, and for you, the _famous_ Elena, and two for me, the ever perfect Lexi." She said handing out the shots and took one of her own. Charlotte laughed.

"Towel girl." Elena said. Lexi nearly choked on her drink.

"_That_ is exactly what Charlie called me."

"So, I didn't know you guys could drink." Elena commented, chuckling as Lexi took her second shot.

"Oh yeah, it helps curb the cravings, but makes for a lot of flashy vamps." Lexi wiggled her eyebrows, making Elena and Charlotte giggle.

"I've never seen Stefan drunk. He always seems so..." Elena trailed off.

"Uptight?" Lexi offered. Elena nodded.

"But not with you." Charlotte said. Lexi smiled.

"Well that's the benefit for knowing someone for over a hundred years. You can just be yourself." She said.

"Yeah, he can't be himself with me." Elena said, sighing sadly.

"Well not yet. The first step is him telling you. The rest comes with time." Lexi said honestly. She slowly crept her hand toward the shot that Charlotte hadn't touched and swiped it, gulping it down, making the teenage girl shake her head and laugh.

"You seem so sure." Elena said with a smile.

"The love of my life was human. He went through, what I imagine you're going through: denial, anger et cetera ... But at the end of the day love really did conquer all." She said, compassion filling her voice. Then she glanced at Elena's drink.

"You gonna drink that?" She asked.

"Go for it." Elena laughed. Lexi obliged and threw, yet another, shot of tequila back.

"Woo!" She was clearly on a buzz and enjoying it.

"I'm scared." Elena admitted. Lexi stopped for a second and looked at her.

"But you're here ... 'cause you crazy about him, I get it okay? I mean what's not to love. Take it from someone who's been around a long time. When it's real, you can't walk away." She said.

Charlotte thought about what Lexi had just said. _When it's real, you can't walk away._ But she needed to; this man wasn't real. She turned and walked to the bar without saying anything. Charlotte needed a drink and she needed something _**strong**_.

When she finally made it, she sat down next to Damon and grabbed his drink that he was bringing to his lips and brought it to her own, throwing it back and feeling the burn as it made its way down her throat. She slammed it down on the bar and slid it over to him, turning her head.

"Another?" she stated/asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, we don't need you to get drunk," Damon said, "now tell me, what's wrong?"

"Do you think I'm crazy? I mean who wouldn't! I'm in love and…." Charlotte trailed off.

"Oh are you? And who's the lucky man?" Damon asked her.

"He's not real." She stated in a hard voice. Damon gave a chuckle.

"Well I guess that does make you a little mental," he teased. Her head snapped in his direction suddenly, her stare icy.

"_Not_ funny!"

Lexi then appeared on the other side of her, smiling.

"Can I interest you in a drink?" She asked the brunette.

"Yes you can!" Charlotte stated, she could really use another one.

"The shots are a bribe." Lexi explained to Damon. "I need you to answer a question."

"What are you really doing in Mystic Falls?" She demanded.

"Have you tried the brittle, it wins awards." Damon said changing the subject.

"Cut the crap." Lexi hissed

"Ok. I have a diabolical master plan." Damon stated.

"What is it?" Lexi asked

"If I told you it would be very _diabolical_, would it?" He smirked.

Across the other side of the bar they didn't see Sheriff Forbes walking in with a terrified girl by her side. Once the girl was taken back outside, she stalked across the room, a syringe filled with vervain at the ready.

When she reached the trio, she stabbed the needle into the blonde.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte screeched trying to move forward, but Damon grabbed her from behind, tightening his arm around her waist and pulling her back into his chest.

"Thank you for the vervain. Now if you'll excuse me." Sheriff Forbes motioned for the officers to carry an unconscious Lexi from the room.

"You did this." Charlotte hissed, ripping herself from Damon's arms, and spinning around to face him. "You knew that they would come after her-"

Damon quickly stepped closer to the hysterical girl and placed a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Charlie, I did it for the right reasons. I have to go."

"Good." Grace snarled looking over at Stefan and Elena and running to them.

"Lexi…Sheriff Forbes, she took her," Charlotte got out.

"Oh my god." Stefan mumbled as the cops began to carry Lexi out of the Grill.

"What is it?" Elena asked totally oblivious to what was happening.

Stefan then grabbed both of the girls' hands and began pulling them towards the door. It was blocked by the cops.

"Can't go out this way." One of the cops said.

Charlotte looked up at a panicked Stefan.

"The back," she told him. And he let go of their hands and pushed his way through the crowd, Charlotte and Elena following after him.

They finally made their way through and found a back exit. The trio heard gun shots and Charlotte began to run towards where she heard them come from. She looked around the corner to see Lexi closing in on the sheriff.

The vampire was about to attack her but Damon stepped in the middle of them and plunged a stake through her heart. Charlotte gasped and Stefan pulled Elena and her back out of sight.

Charlotte felt herself tremble! She thought that there was something good about Damon. She was wrong. He was heartless; he killed Lexi, his brother's best friend, and she didn't even do anything wrong. He only did it to save his own ass.

"You ok?" Damon asked, acting as if he were concerned.

"Thank you. Get it in the car quickly." Sheriff Forbes told him. He nodded and began to do as she said.

Charlotte sobbed and knew that Damon had heard when she saw him turn in her direction, looking into her eyes with an apologetic expression on his face.

"Are you ok Damon?" Sheriff asked interrupting their stare.

"Yea." He responded, letting out a sigh.

Sheriff Forbes got into her car and pulled away, Damon disappearing soon after.

Stefan was stormed away; Elena and Charlotte following after him.

"Stefan!" Elena called. He didn't turn.

"Stefan!" Charlotte tried, this time. He turned on his heels and his eyes had a wild look, making the twin sisters step back.

"He killed her! He killed Zach; he killed Tanner; he turned Vicki; I have to kill him!" He shouted.

"No! You can't do that!" Charlotte said. Elena grabbed my arm.

"Why are you trying to _save _him? Charlotte he's never gonna change! Don't you see that? He's not gonna change!" He was outraged. He was furious with his brother and he had every right to be, but he couldn't kill Damon. They needed each other.

"I'm not trying to save _him_; I'm trying to save _you_! You have no idea what this will do to you, please Stefan." Charlotte begged.

"Everywhere I've been, pain and death follow; Damon follows me. No more." He said and started backing up.

"Stefan please. Please just talk to me; Let me be here for you. _Talk to me_." Elena said. Stefan shook his head and started to walk away.

"No. You were right to stay away from me." And then he left, and both girls could only imagine what was going to happen when he found Damon.

Charlotte was walking from her bathroom, a towel rubbing her hair trying to capture as much moisture as possible. Her and Elena had arrived home only an hour before and went to their bedrooms. It had been a long and exhausting night.

She stopped, seeing who was sitting on the edge of her bed.

"What are you doing her-" she started but stopped when she saw the state he was in and all the anger she had for him melted away.

She didn't know why but her feet carried her over to kneel in front of him, lifting his shirt to see the bloody wound.

"What happened?" she asked worried. But she didn't need to ask, she knew. Stefan.

"I'm alright." Damon told her.

"Why aren't you healing?"

"I haven't fed. I need blood." He whispered.

Charlotte knew she was going to regret this later. And if Elena found out, there wouldn't be time for regret since she would kill her. Charlotte didn't know what to give him, so she just held her wrist out for him to take. He looked at her incredulously.

"Or you can have my neck; whichever you prefer?" Her voice sounded unsure.

"Why are you doing this?" Damon asked her.

"Because you _need_ it." She told him, her voice now strong. He only shook his head.

"I'm _**not **_going to drink from you, Charlie." He whispered. "I'm _not_; because once I start, I know I won't be able to stop."

"I _trust_ you, Damon." Charlotte sighed out stubbornly, even though she wasn't completely sure of her own words.

She brought her wrist closer to him until it was close to his lips. He hesitated a moment, bringing his hands up to grasp at it and brought her wrist right to his lips. They were smooth and warm, his lips moist from licking them.

Damon opened his mouth and Charlotte closed her eyes, waiting for the pain. But it never came. Instead she felt him kiss her wrist and gently let it go. She looked up at him and met his eyes. She wished he would show this side of him more often.

"I could get you some milk? It's supposed to help build strong bones!" Charlotte said, she couldn't handle the seriousness anymore and she was glad when Damon let out a chortle.

"I think I'll pass on the milk." He told her.

Charlotte nodded her head at him before stepping around him to crawl onto her bed and underneath the covers.

"You can stay." She whispered. "I mean only if you want; on the floor, or you can even have the bottom of the bed."

"Okay." He answered.

Charlotte got up from her bed and went into the linen closet in the hall, before scurrying back to her bedroom and getting back into bed. She handed Damon the blanket she had grabbed and handed him one of her pillows.

She curled up into a ball while Damon lay at the end of her bed and stared up at her. They just looked at each other until Charlotte felt her eyes getting heavy with sleep.

"Sweet dreams, pretty girl." Damon whispered in the darkness as her eyes finally closed and she drifted to sleep. And sweet dreams she had.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfits in link on profile.**

Yay or nay?

In this chapter Bonnie tells the girls that she's a witch and Damon and Charlotte get closer and sadly no Klaus but I'll try to put him in the next chapter.

The song I was listening to when I was writing the Charlotte and Damon dance scene was _Jenny and Tyler- As Long As Our Hearts Are Beating_ if anyone wants to know.

**susl****: **I'm not too sure about a Damon romance. I always hate how he's everyone's second choice. But if it did turn to something more, I wouldn't make it serious between them, I'd only make them like a FWB type thing because I wouldn't want Damon to be Charlotte's second choice and Damon still would have feelings for Elena (even though I don't really like her).

If anyone is open to Charlotte and Damon being together like this until Klaus comes then let me know and I'll try to work it into the story.

Also how do you feel about her having dreams from her lifetimes before joining the Mikaelson's? Any ideas? I think it will help to when I delve into what she is.


	10. Chapter 9: History Repeating

**A/N: **So I'm going to go with like I originally planned so Damon and Charlotte will _**only **_be friends. I'm not really a fan of love triangles anyway.

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Chapter 9: History Repeating

_Charlotte was sitting in the bath, steam rising around her. She jumped when she heard the door slam from behind. She turned her head, and sank further into the hot water. She should've known._

"_Niklaus! What are you doing here? Get out!" She exclaimed. "I'm naked!"_

"_Come on love," he said when he saw her move her arm to cover her chest. He then started to pull his shirt over his head. _

"_What are you doing?" Charlotte shrieked._

"_I'm going to join you; what does it look like I'm doing?" he responded, starting to untie his pants._

"_You're not funny! Now get out! I wish to take my bath in peace!" The brunette demanded._

_Niklaus stepped out of his pants and walked to the tub. He ghosted his finger tips across her shoulders before pushing her forward gently and stepped in behind her. With his legs on either side of her, he pulled Charlotte back, flush against his chest, pressing his lips to the base of her slim throat and wrapped his arms just under her breasts tightly. _

_He smiled, feeling her shutter and the soft goose bumps break out on her once smooth skin. She went to move forward but he pulled her back, the water sloshing around them and over the rail of the tub._

"_So what did you do today? I haven't seen you since breakfast." The blue-eyed man asked/stated._

"_I sat in the library, reading that new book Elijah had gotten for me." She told him relaxed. _

"_Mother caught you sneaking out again. Didn't she?" Niklaus sniggered._

"_No. I wasn't caught. Henrik told. There's a difference." She told him matter-of-factly._

"_Well you should have come and found me. I could have thought of a few ways to keep you entertained." He haughtily whispered._

_Charlotte turned her head to look at him, an annoyed look on her face._

"_Must you always be so cad! You can be quite the animal sometimes!"_

"_Not with you, never with you!" he told her, his voice thick with honestly, as he tapped her gently on the tip of her nose._

_Charlotte lifted her hand and brushed a golden curl away from his face._

_"What would I do without you?"_

_Charlotte gazed into his eyes that were hooded with lust and desire; her own orbs were burning with a fiery passion. She brought her lips until they were just millimeters from his own. _

"_You'll never have to know," she whispered, and her lips came crashing down onto his in a searing kiss._

_And there, in the now chilled water of the tub, Klaus and Charlotte made love._

In the morning, Charlotte woke up and found Damon gone, and in his place a sheet of paper with the simple word _Thanks_ written across it.

After showering and getting dressed she found herself walking beside her sister and Caroline, to school.

"Have you even talked to Bonnie?" Elena asked Caroline.

"No, I'm mad at her. She needs to make the first move." She said stubbornly.

Charlotte chuckled and shook her head disbelievingly.

"Caroline, don't be an _Indian giver_! Besides, you said the necklace made her look fat. Don't you think that was crossing the line a bit?" she asked.

"Be the bigger person." Elena encouraged.

"Impossible in her presence." Caroline stated.

"Why are you so pissed at her anyway?" Elena asked.

"Because she's a thief!" Caroline complained. "I gave her my necklace, and she refuses to give it back. It's a matter of principal." Caroline argued.

Both sisters knew that what Caroline was saying didn't make any sense.

"Alright, well, we tried. We're officially out of it." Charlotte told her friend, referring to she and Elena.

"Good, so where's Stefan?" She asked Elena sighing.

"He's avoiding me."

"Why?"

"It's complicated. I'll see you later." Elena said, and then linked arms with Charlotte, dragged her toward their first period class.

Charlotte still hadn't told Elena about her sleepover last night, so Elena wasn't exactly sure if Stefan had killed Damon or not. And she wasn't about to blow her cover by telling her that Damon had slept in her bed with her. Elena wouldn't approve and Charlotte wasn't in the mood to get bitched at. So she just kept her thoughts to herself and continued walking, listening to her sister yap.

When the girls' made it to history class, Charlotte looked around and realized that Stefan wasn't in his seat. Where was he?

She was interrupted from her thoughts by a tall male entering the room. He had brown hair, and blue eyes; his complexion was slightly pale and he had some stubble on his cheeks. Charlotte tilted her head.

'_This must be the new teacher.'_ She thought.

"Alrighty," The man said, taking his jacket off and heading to the blackboard. He grabbed a piece of chalk and started writing.

"Alaric Saltzman." The man said pointing to the board where his name was written. "It's a mouthful, I know. It doesn't exactly roll off the tong. But, Saltzman is of German origins. My family immigrated here in 1755 to Texas."

He then took a slight pause.

"I however was born and raised in Boston. The name Alaric belongs to my very old great grandfather that is dead and that I will never be able to thank enough. Pronounce it A-L-E-R-I-C but it's A-L-A-R-I-C. Okay? So you can call me Ric. I'm your new history teacher." Alaric ended with a smile.

The door to class suddenly swung open, and the Gilbert twins looked up to see Bonnie scurrying to her seat, head down. Charlotte stopped paying attention to Mr. Saltzman for a second and looked over to Elena. She was mouthing to Bonnie asking if she was okay. Bonnie just shook her head lightly in response. She looked helpless. Bonnie looked back to Elena and her and mouthed the words 'talk after class'.

Once class was finished the trio of girls made their way hastily outside.

"And then I ended up at the remains of the old Fell's Church before I woke up back in the woods." Bonnie finished telling her two best friends about her nightmare. She looked petrified.

"And you always see your ancestor Emily?" Charlotte asked. Bonnie nodded her head, pouting her bottom lip out a bit. Yep, she was definitely frightened.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" She asked them. Elena and her sister exchanged a glance.

"You know, two weeks ago I'd say no but..." Elena said.

"I think I'm being haunted." Bonnie admitted.

"I don't get it. Why Emily?" Charlotte asked. Why would the witch haunt her ancestor? Bonnie shrugged.

"Grams said she was a powerful witch back in the Civil War days and this medallion was hers; a witch's talisman." She held up the amber crystal that Damon was trying to get back. This simple little pendant was causing so much trouble.

"And it all started when you got the necklace?" Charlotte clarified. Bonnie nodded.

"I think she's using it to communicate with me." She said, looking down at it.

"Okay, so what does Grams say?" Elena asked.

"I can't call her. She's gonna tell me to embrace it. I don't want to embrace it, I want it to stop." She said, fear filling her warm brown eyes. All the girls let out a sigh.

"Well, I gotta go. Maybe focusing on school will get my mind off of it." Bonnie said.

The sisters' nodded and watched her walk away. They turned around and Elena stopped, having to catch her breath when she saw Stefan. Charlotte grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"You weren't in class. I was worried." She said, and they walked closer to him.

"I got your messages, and sorry I didn't get back to you, but...what I wanna say shouldn't be said over the phone." He said. His voice was gloomy.

"A simple "I didn't kill my brother" text would have sufficed." Elena said, half heartedly. Stefan crossed his arms over his chest.

"I didn't kill my brother, as much as he deserved it."

Charlotte's mind flashed to a wounded Damon last night.

"So what did you wanna tell me?" Elena asked, taking in a deep breath, bracing herself for some sort of goodbye.

"I won't be coming to school anymore. I'm gonna back off and keep my distance. It's the right thing to do." He said, bowing his head. Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him.

"Back off from school?" she asked.

"Or from me?" Elena finished, her tone irritated. He didn't say anything and Elena clenched her jaw. "Thank you for telling me."

"It's better this way." He said.

"Yep. Got it." Elena was pissed.

"You're angry. That's good. It'll be easier if you hate me." He said and walked away.

Charlotte went to go after him, but Elena grabbed her arm, shaking her head at her younger twin sister.

"It's fine Charlie,"

_Well...that went well._

_The girls soon__ after, got a phone call from Bonnie. Damon had threatened her about wanting the necklace back. So the girls found themselves back together again and were on their way to the Gilbert house._

"He's bad news, he really scared me." Bonnie said.

"You need to stay as far away from Damon as possible." Elena said.

Charlotte was starting to get annoyed at all the Damon bashing. He really wasn't all that horrible, well, to her at least.

"I'm trying. He just keeps showing up." Bonnie said, and Charlotte couldn't agree with her more on that one. He did always just appear out of nowhere.

"I don't want you to be alone. You're sleeping at our place tonight. We can make a whole night out of it- where are you going?" Charlotte started, but her heart lurched when the tires suddenly screeched to a stop and she gripped the dash board so she wouldn't slam into it. The sisters watched as Bonnie whipped open the door and tore the necklace off, storming over to the field and chucking it as far as she could. She then got back in the car and sighed.

"Are you okay?" Charlotte asked.

"Now I am. All my problems were because of that thing. Can't believe I didn't do that sooner." She smiled. Both the girls chuckled.

"What's Grams gonna say?" Elena asked from the back seat.

"Grams_ isn't_ the one being haunted by a hundred and fifty year old ghost, is she?" Bonnie said.

"Okay then." Elena and Charlotte said together. Bonnie smiled and drove away.

When they finally reached the house, Charlotte went upstairs and changed into a pair of jeans and simple white t-shirt. It was a little while later and Caroline had joined them for a girls' night.

They were all in the kitchen, still setting up the sleepover stuff, when Caroline slammed her hands down on the counter.

"I'm sorry. There. I said it. If you want the ugly-ass necklace, keep it. It's yours." She said, looking at Bonnie.

Charlotte laughed, making everyone look at her funny.

"That was _the_ **worst** apology _ever_!" She stated, shrugging. "But at least you did it,"

Bonnie looked guiltily at Caroline.

"Will you hate me if I tell you I threw it away?" She asked, biting her lip.

"You threw it away?" Caroline seethed.

'_And here we go again,'_ Charlotte thought.

"I know it sounds crazy but the necklace was giving me nightmares. I had to get rid of it." Bonnie said.

"You could've just given it back to me." Caroline said.

"Why? So you could give it back to Damon?" Charlotte asked, causing the blonde to roll her eyes.

"Screw Damon! Are we doing manicures or what? Who has their kit?" Caroline asked, changing the subject.

'_Thank God.'_

"Mine's in my bag." Bonnie said. Caroline went over to Bonnie's bag to retrieve it.

"So Elena, how long do you think this fight with Stefan's gonna last? Is it...like a permanent thing?" Caroline asked as she searched Bonnie's bag. Elena rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, Caroline." She said. The girls turned when they heard Caroline scoff.

"Why are you such a little liar Bonnie?" She said.

"Caroline!" Charlotte scolded, but then her mouth fell open when Care held up the crystal in her hands.

She _saw_ Bonnie throw it. Charlotte looked at Bonnie and Elena and they were just as dumbfounded as her. Caroline came into the kitchen and set the necklace down.

"I'm not lying to you Caroline, I swear." Bonnie pleaded.

"It's true." Elena said.

"We watched her throw it into the middle of a field." Charlotte stated.

"Then explain it." Caroline looked expectantly at all of the dark haired girls.

"Emily?" Bonnie looked at the twins.

"Who's Emily?" Caroline asked.

"The ghost." Bonnie said.

"Oh, the ghost has a name now?" Caroline rolled her eyes.

Charlotte sighed. She was really getting sick of all the fighting.

"I want to know why she won't leave me alone." Bonnie said worried.

"What is going on? Why am I not a part of this conversation? You guys do this to me all the time." Caroline complained.

"That's not true!" Elena said.

"Yes it is." Bonnie said. She looked at Caroline. "I can't talk to you. You don't listen."

"That's not true!" Caroline said. Bonnie sighed and looked honestly at Caroline.

"I'm a witch." She said. Charlotte turned to look at how Caroline would react to the news. She thought Bonnie was lying.

"And don't we all know it?" She snarled.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. I'm trying to tell you something. You don't even hear it." Bonnie walked off into the living room, upset. Caroline looked incredulously at Charlotte and Elena.

"I listen. When do I not listen?" She asked. The sisters shared a secret glance agreeing they should not answer that question.

"You need to go apologize." Charlotte said softly. Caroline sighed and nodded, taking the necklace while she headed into the living room where Bonnie was.

"Bonnie. Look it's just not me. I don't believe in the whole witch thing...But if you do, then...Okay. I'm in. That's all it takes for me to jump on board, because I consider you to be my best friend. And I'm saying this knowing that Charlie and Elena are in the kitchen listening to my every word. I didn't know how this was for you, but I'm listening now. Girls! You can come in now. We're done."

They poked their heads into the living room, smiling at their two friends.

"There is just way too much drama in this room. So what do you guys wanna do? I have an idea. Why don't we have a séance?" Caroline beamed.

Charlotte started to choke on the air she had just breathed.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Bonnie said. She nodded.

"Come on. Let's summon some spirits. This Emily chick has some serious explaining to do." Caroline smiled and since there really was no arguing with Caroline, the quartet headed upstairs to Elena's room and sat in a circle after getting some candles from the hall closet.

They took their time lighting them and then turned out the lights.

"What are we doing?" Elena asked.

"I don't know." Bonnie said. Caroline sighed.

"Woooooooo…woooooooo…" Charlotte wiggled her fingers at the girls, but ruined her ghostly impression with a snort.

"Be quiet and concentrate. Close your eyes." They closed their eyes and grabbed each others hands.

"Now take a deep breathe. Bonnie? Call to her." Caroline instructed.

Bonnie took another deep breath.

"Emily? You there?" Charlotte erupted in a fit of giggles but stopped at the stern look Caroline was giving her. She pouted at her friend and then took a deep breath, closing her eyes once again.

"Really? 'Emily you there?'. That's all you got? Come on." Caroline urged, frustrated at Bonnie's lacking enthusiasm.

"Fine, jeeze. Emily, I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen."

Suddenly the flames from the candles flickered and they all gasped, startled by what they witnessed.

"Did that just-" Elena started.

"-Yeah that just happened." Charlotte finished.

Suddenly the room was freezing, and Caroline rubbed her arms.

"It's just the air conditioning." Bonnie said.

"Ask her to show you a sign!" Caroline said. "C'mon ask her!"

Bonnie refused to say anything so Caroline took it into her own hands.

"Emily, if you're there, show us another sign." She said.

Charlotte's heart was pounding in her ears. When nothing happened, Bonnie decided to speak.

"See? It's not working."

Charlotte screamed as the window slammed open and the candles blew out.

"Get the light! Get the light please!" Bonnie begged.

Elena turned her lights on. Bonnie ripped the necklace off and threw it on the ground.

"I'm done!" She said. The lights turned off again.

"Elena!"

"It's not me!" But the lights turned back on again and Charlotte gasped.

"You guys...the necklace...it's gone..." She said. Caroline was breathing heavily and Bonnie looked as though she would faint at any moment.

"Fun's over Caroline. You've made a point. I get it, now give it back." Elena said, looking at Caroline who had all of a sudden become very calm. She looked shocked.

"Wha-I didn't take it!" Caroline said.

A flicker of a shadow crossed the hall behind Caroline and Charlotte looked confused, taking a step towards where it had gone.

"What? What happened, Charlie?" Elena asked seeing her sister with a ponderous look on her face.

"Nothing. I don't know. Jeremy, are you home?" She called out.

"Guys?" Bonnie was in the bathroom, kneeling down. Then the door was slammed shut.

"Bonnie!" The girls all sprang forward, trying to get the door open but it wouldn't budge. All they could hear were Bonnie's screams coming from inside.

"I'll get the hallway door!" Elena said. Caroline and Charlotte kept trying to pull the door open.

"Bonnie! Bonnie c'mon open it!" Charlotte screamed and then it all stopped.

Elena came running back into her room and Charlotte wrenched open the bathroom door to see Bonnie covering her face with her hands. She pulled them away and Charlotte knew something was different. She had never seen this look on her friend's face.

"Bonnie are you okay?" she asked, kneeling down in front of her.

"I'm fine."

"Oh my god, you were totally faking it!" Caroline complained. "You know you scared the hell out of me!"

Caroline stormed out of the room.

"Wait, Caroline, wait!" Elena said, but Bonnie shot past both of them and to the stairs. She turned towards the sisters.

"I must go. Thank you for having me. I'll take it from here." She started down the stairs.

"Oh my god, Bonnie!" Elena called. She didn't turn.

"Emily!" Charlotte tried and Bonnie turned towards them again.

"I won't let him have it. It must be destroyed." She opened the door and slammed it shut.

Charlotte was ran down the stairs and tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge. Finally it swung open and she screamed. It was only Jeremy. He looked at the group of friends oddly.

"Okay, I'm outta here." Caroline said and walked from the house.

"Call Stefan, now." Charlotte demanded. Elena already had her phone out.

"It's Bonnie. Emily is possessing her, she said something. She said 'I won't let him have it, it must be destroyed.' And then she just left. I don't know uh-...Oh my-Fell's Church. By the old cemetery, that's where she took Bonnie in her dreams. We have to help her Stefan."

Charlotte was already leading Elena to the car before she even hung up. She shoved Elena in the passenger's seat and hurried to the drivers, speeding as fast as she could to Fell's Church.

"Hurry!" Elena shrieked.

Once Charlotte was as far as they could go, they got out of the car and sprinted through the grave yard.

"Bonnie!" Charlotte screamed seeing her friend standing there.

"Stefan." Emily said.

"Hello, Emily." Stefan replied.

"These people don't deserve this. They don't deserve to know such evil." Emily said.

"What do you mean evil?" Stefan asked, but he was interrupted by Damon.

"Emily, I swear to god, I'll make you regret this." Damon growled, standing up slowly.

"I won't release _them_ into this world." Bonnie's voice said.

"Them?" Stefan asked. He then turned back to Damon. "What part of the story did you leave out Damon?"

"What does it matter?" He asked grunting with pain.

"Emily tell me what you did." Stefan said to Emily.

"To save _her_. I had to save _them_." She responded.

"You saved everyone in the church?" Stefan asked.

Charlotte was shocked; the vampires that were rounded up and placed into the church were _alive_?

"With one, comes all." Emily concluded.

"I don't care about them. I just want Katherine." Damon said pleadingly. Charlotte felt her heart break for him. He was doing this all just for the girl he loved.

"Why should I believe a single word that comes out of your mouth? This isn't about love is it? This is about revenge?" Stefan asked holding Damon's shoulders so he couldn't push past him.

"Damon! You can't do this!" Charlotte yelled in Damon's direction.

"Why not?" He yelled back, anger written across his face. "They killed 27 other people; they deserve what ever they get!"

"27 _vampires_ Damon. They were vampires. You can't just bring them back!" Stefan stated to Damon.

"This town deserves this." Damon snarled.

"You're blaming innocent people for something that happened 145 years ago."

"There is nothing innocent about these people. And don't think for a second it won't happen again. They already know too much. And they'll burn your little grand-witch right next to us when they find out." Damon shouted as he began to push Stefan. "Trust me."

"Things are different now." Emily said.

"Don't do this." Damon pleaded shaking his head.

"I can't free them. . . I won't." Emily said in Bonnie's voice.

"Incendia." She said. And then she was surrounded by a ring of fire in the shape of a pentagram.

In the flicker of the flames Charlotte saw the image of Bonnie and someone she had never seen before. To the side she saw Damon sneering at her and Stefan watching cautiously.

"Please don't do this!" Damon begged. Charlotte could hear the pain and desperation in his voice, but it soon turned to anger.

Bonnie held up the crystal in her hand and another flicker of fire flashed across her face and the other face. The person she could only assume to be Emily, appeared. She threw the crystal up in the air and it exploded into sparks.

"_NO_!" Damon yelled. Then the fire was gone and Charlotte rushed over to help Bonnie.

"Damon, no!" Charlotte roared jumping in front of Bonnie just as he was about to attack her. Damon suddenly went flying back into a tree, the ground started to shake and branches started falling from the trees. Damon quickly picked himself up and blurred back over to the duo.

Charlotte screamed as he bit down into her neck.

"_Damon_!" Elena screeched and Stefan raced forward to pull him off.

Charlotte felt light headed and turned to see her blood dripping from Damon's mouth and fangs; his eyes were red, his face pulsating with black veins. You could see the bloodlust in them. He went to stalk towards her for more until he snapped out of it; he slowly backed away from Charlotte when he saw her expression. She was shaken.

"Drink my blood, it'll heal you." Stefan told her, bringing his bitten wrist to her mouth. He placed it to her soft lips and Charlotte could feel the blood slide down her throat.

She still had her eyes locked with Damon's, who's own went back to their original blue. Her hazel orbs held disappointment. Every time she tried to find the good in him, he let her down. He was hot one minute and then he was cold the next.

But part of her could understand. He just wanted Katherine. If the man from her dreams was real, she'd do anything to get him back too. But that was one part she couldn't understand. Stefan had described her as a manipulative bitch. Why would Damon want that?

Elena had gone over to Bonnie, helping her up. Charlotte pulled away from Stefan's wrist and took a few deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" He asked, lifting her chin so she would look at him. She looked over at Damon and saw him looking at her with wide eyes that were almost pleading with her to be okay.

Charlotte nodded. She turned around and saw Bonnie with a blotchy, tear stained face, and Elena herself was close to tears. She made her way over to them and opened her arms, waiting for them to embrace her. And they did.

Once they held each other for a few moments, they slowly made their way back to the car; all of them taking much needed breaths.

"I don't understand, Charlie, he attacked you, and his face was like..." Bonnie was shaking her head, tears still streaming down her face. Elena looked at her younger twin sister and cupped her cheeks in her hands.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay?" She asked, looking at Charlotte's neck.

"Yeah, it's just blood. I just-"

"I know." Elena pulled her into a hug and she let a few tears fall from her eyes.

The girls heard Bonnie gasp from behind them and the sisters pulled apart to see Stefan approaching cautiously.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." He said.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked.

"I'll explain everything. Okay? Let's just get out of here. Look at me. Trust me. He's not going to hurt you. Come on. Come on." Elena said and Bonnie went into the passenger side of Charlotte's car. She looked over at Stefan.

"Thank you." She said and went over to him, wrapping her arms around him. He returned it and squeezed her tightly. She pulled away and made her way to her sister and friend.

"You talk. I'll take care of Bonnie." She said. Elena nodded.

When Elena walked away, Charlotte told Bonnie that she would be back in a minute before she made her way back into the cemetery.

Damon was sitting there, head hung and as still as a statue.

"Damon?" She called. He turned his head toward her. Before she could even blink, Damon was suddenly in front of her.

"I am so sorry." Damon shook his head. "If I had just checked and saw it was _you_…you shouldn't had gotten in the way."

"That doesn't make it any better, Damon. You still would've hurt Bonnie." Charlotte told him. He lifted his head and looked at her intently.

"I don't want you to hate me too." He whispered. "I don't want to lose whatever it is we have…"

"Katherine is still alive?" She asked. He swallowed and nodded. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That you're still hurting from her. I know what it's like to want something so bad and know you can never have it. If there was a way I could get her back for you I would, but I can't. I'm sorry Damon." She stated softly to him and she turned, walking away, toward the car.

She walked around to the passenger side and got in the back. She looked forward and saw Elena with a hurt look on her face.

"Let's go home." Bonnie said. Elena started driving.

When they pulled up in front of Bonnie's Grams house she bid her friends goodbye before walking up the steps and through the door.

Her Grams met her at the door, startled by her granddaughter's appearance. Bonnie then sat down and explained what had just happened.

"….Charlotte, her eyes, they turned gold and…" She started to say.

Grams stood up and walked over to the book shelf that adorned the wall. She pulled out a book and handed it to Bonnie. The teenage girl opened the book and felt like the wind was knocked out of her.

"What is this? This is Charlie!" Bonnie exclaimed, flipping through the book and looking at portraits of her friend that were from different eras.

"Witches are servants of nature Bonnie. Nature serves Charlotte." She took a pause and continued to explain further, seeing the look on Bonnie's face, "Charlotte is the epitome of magic. She helped create this world and its people; you'd do best to make sure she's always on your side."

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**A/N: **

**Outfit link in profile.**

So if you read the author's note at the beginning of the chapter I said no Damon/Charlotte romance. Was the dance scene in the last chapter too mushy/romancey? Or was it just enough before it crossed that line? If it was let me know and I'll back down a little!

Too much? Yay or nay? Leave a review with your thoughts or constructive criticism. They make me want to write more.

So in this chapter we get just a peek of what Charlotte can do and what she is. In the coming chapters I'll delve more into it. I don't want it to seem that she's like this holier than thou type thingy, so just tell me what you think or if I should change it :)

I have a little diagram or whatever you want to call it. I picked the chapters I'm gonna skip because I don't think I'll find a big role for Charlie in them so season 1 should be done by June 30th , so that's like one chapter a day! And then we're on to season 2!


	11. Chapter 10: Bloodlines

**A/N**: Most of the episode Turning Point is skipped, only the end is written. I'm sure everyone already knows what occurred during it.

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Chapter 10: The Turning Point/Bloodlines

Charlotte had just returned home from the school's Career Night. She was exhausted. Today Bonnie kept acting strange around her and then she and Elena found out that Logan Fell was the mysterious new vampire, who also, by the way, kidnapped Caroline.

All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. But apparently fate was against her as she heard her phone beep. She pulled it from her bag and saw it was a text from Elena.

**I look like her. Can you come and get me? I'm at Stefan's. **

Charlotte quickly texted her back, saying she'd be there in a few minutes.

'_What did she mean she looks like her? Like who?'_ she thought.

She turned and grabbed her keys from the table and made her way back to her car. She was halfway to the boarding house when she got another text from Elena. She looked down to see what it said real quickly and when she looked back upshe let out a scream.

A man was in the middle of the road and with no time to react, Charlotte ran right into him. She tried to swerve out of the way but it didn't work out. She held her breath as the car flipped over multiple times. When it finally rested Charlotte was left hanging upside down, glass from the shattered windows embedded into her exposed skin.

She turned her head and watched in complete horror to see the man she had just hit stand up and start to advance towards her. Charlotte brought her hand to the belt buckle, clawing at it to try and get it to release. She felts tears start sliding down her forehead as she saw him getting closer and closer. All she could do was close her eyes and scream.

"Hey pretty girl," she heard a voice say, "Whatcha doin' in there."

She let out a relieved sigh as she opened her eyes to see Damon.

"What does it look like I'm doing Damon!" She growled out before saying sarcastically, "Just hanging around!"

"You look stuck." He stated.

"It's my seat belt." Charlotte's head was spinning and her heart was racing.

"I'll get you out. Don't worry." Damon stood up and she could feel the car shaking as he tried to flip it back over. He grunted and leaned back down, peeking his head back through the broken window.

"Okay, different plan; I want you to put your hands on the roof," Charlotte did as she was told.

"Just like that; you ready?" He asked. She only nodded.

"One...two...three." He reached across her and ripped the seat belt completely off. He caught Charlotte before she could hit the roof and pulled her from the car as she clutched to his shirt. "Are you okay?"

Charlotte closed her eyes. She was tired, she just wanted to sleep.

"Upsy-daisy." Damon said as he picked her up bridal style when her legs buckled beneath her. He walked down the road to his car and placed her gently in the passenger seat. Damon chuckled. He was glad that she was sleeping or else she'd probably accuse him of kidnapping her.

_They sat around in thrones, forming a circle, a map beneath their feet that showed the world below. _

"_And what do you plan on doing Zeus? Destroy them? Make their lives complete hell until they tremble and fall to their knees praying for us to save them? You haven't given them much to be thankful for—"_

"_I created them—" The beautiful woman cut him off, standing from her seat, fire burning in her eyes._

"_You created them? You did? Because last time I checked I gave them life! I gave you life and I helped you achieve this power and what did you do? You banished your brother to rule the underworld! You tricked him! Forcing him to live an eternity in a fiery hell! And now you want to call on him for help?" _

"_They disgraced our temples! They are declaring war against us!" Ares shouted at her._

"_SILENCE!" Zeus stood, slamming his scepter on the floor, making the world beneath them shake with thunder. He turned his murderous stare to the brunette before him. _

"_And they reward your love with defiance!" he snarled at her. "There will be no truce!_

_We must teach them a lesson!"_

_A chilled voice started to speak from behind them. Hades. His voice was raspy and his skin pale from long decades beneath the earth's surface. _

"_Their prayers were meant to fuel our immortality," Hades told his youngest brother, before turning to look at the girl, "But you Charlotte! You loved them too much! They've grown strong! And now we are all threatened!"_

_Hades turned back to look at Zeus._

"_Let me loose upon them brother! You depend on their love, but I feed on their fear! They will pray to us and we will all grow strong again!" _

_Zeus sent a sly look at Charlotte, before speaking again._

"_Do what you will." He told Hades, before turning to speak to the rest of the Gods. "Hades is right! My children have grown insolent! They need to be reminded of the order of things!"_

_Zeus said this staring into Charlotte's eyes, he could see the fury growing in them. Zeus turned back to Hades, lifting his hand to graze his cheek._

"_Set an example brother! Turn them on each other and back into our arms!" _

_And Hades vanished._

"_How dare you! They are **my** children! **Not** yours! I won't allow it Zeus; I will destroy you if it is the** last** thing I do! You will **never** rest for this!" Charlotte growled out before turning on her heel and marching away._

"_Brother," Poseidon started. "She helped us defeat our parents. She helped us rise to power. She is the reason the people worship us and you wish to defy her? To go against her? You know that there will be consequences!"_

_Poseidon then rose from his seat and gave everyone in the circle a pointed look, hoping that they would listen to his words, before he too walked away._

_Charlotte was standing at the edge of a cloud, looking down at her children from the Heavens. She turned her head hearing the approaching footsteps._

"_Are you sure it is wise to go against him?" _

_She looked up at the man before she looked back down on the lands below, her expression one of sorrow._

"_They are my children, Poseidon," her voice was soft as she whispered these words, but it soon turned hard. "They may have turned their backs on us; but I will **never** turn my back on them!"_

_Charlotte closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, she found herself walking amongst the chaos she was looking down upon seconds before. She was going to save them. She was going to protect them; even if it meant ending her own life in the process._

_If it was a war Zeus wanted; then it was a war he was going to get. _

Charlotte was startled awake. She felt the heat of the sun beating down on her in the car. Wait the car?

_The accident. Elena._

"Well good morning, pretty girl! Have a nice nap?" Damon exclaimed cheerily.

"Ughhh…" she moaned out, trying to block the sun from her eyes. "Definitely not what I wanna see when I first wake up!"

"Mmhmm…I'm sure it is," he told her cheekily.

Charlotte sat up in the seat, running her fingers through her hair. She pulled off the blazer she had on and threw it into the back, rolling up her sleeves. She looked around them and saw nothing but open space.

"Where are we?"

"Georgia."

"Georgia?" She asked making sure she heard him correctly.

"No, no were not. Seriously where are we Damon?" she asked again, this time chuckling at what she thought was a joke.

"No, really, we're in Georgia." He said looking at her. Charlotte sighed and then she scrunched her face up in confusion.

"Wait-...why? Why are we in Georgia?" When Damon didn't answer her she screamed.

"Stop the car!"

Damon immediately pulled over on the side of the road.

"What's the matter? Are you alright?" He asked her, checking her body over for any sign that she was hurt.

Charlotte nodded her head and opened the door, groaning as she stepped out. Her back was throbbing with pain and her legs were cramping. She winced, trying to rub her back. A breeze wafted through the air and then Damon's hands were on her back.

"I'm alright." She reassured him. "Thank you. I just need to call Elena."

Just as he was about to hand her the phone, it rang.

"Hello?"

"Oh my god! Are you _okay_? Where the _hell_are you?" Elena's voice shrieked and Charlotte had to pull it from her ear.

"I'm fine. I'm... " She looked at Damon. "I'm in Georgia with Damon."

"_WHAT_?"

"I'm okay Elena. I'll explain everything to you, I promise, just-"

"No! You'll explain it to me_right now_! What _happened_? When I got home I saw your car wasn't in the driveway and you weren't there and I've been so worried. And why are you in _Georgia_? And more importantly, why the _hell_are you with _Damon_?" She asked, well more like yelled at her younger sister.

"Relax. I was in a car accident. Someone was in the middle of the road and I'll explain more in depth when I get home. I don't even know why I'm in Georgia, but I'm sure that will be explained soon too. And I'm coming up blank on the whole Damon part. Now, please, Elena. Don't worry. Tell Jenna whatever you need to, just not the truth. And tell me whatever you wanted to tell me when you texted me last night." Charlotte said, hearing Elena sigh through the ear piece.

"I look like Katherine." She said. Charlotte chuckled.

"Well duh. All guys have a type, Elena." She scoffed and shook her head as Damon cocked an eyebrow at her.

"No. I mean I look _exactly_like her. She could be my identical twin."

"Elena, **I'm** your twin!"

"No Charlie! You don't understand! I'll send you a picture." And a second later, she opened the text and was stunned by what she saw.

"Holy hell motherfu-."

Damon snatched the phone from her and looked at the picture. He then put it to his ear.

"Charlie has to go now. I'll bring her back by tomorrow. _Promise_." Then he snapped the phone shut and put it in his pocket.

"Damon..._why_does my sister, look exactly like Katherine?" She asked.

"I don't know why." He said.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means, I don't know, and I don't want to know. Whatever ties her to Katherine, means nothing to me. Because _she is not her_." He said. Charlotte was happy when he said this. She knew her sister wasn't a manipulative bitch.

"Can we just go back?" She asked, she was tired and now she had this on her mind.

"Oh c'mon Pretty Girl, I'm gonna call you that from now on. You don't mind do you?" But he didn't let her answer as he continued to talk, "You don't want to go back now. We're almost there. It's gonna be a fun road trip!"

"Where's there?"

"A little place outside of Atlanta," He said cupping Charlotte's cheek with one of his hands and she sighed.

"What's the rush? Time-Out. Trust me; your problems are still going to be there when you get home. Look. Step away from your life for 5 minutes." He pleaded.

"5 minutes." She answered making Damon smile.

"Am I going to be safe with you?"

"Yes. Always." He stepped a little closer to me, cupping her face still.

"Can I trust you?"

"When can you not?" he questioned her.

"Well you did almost eat me the other night!" She teased and this caused him to smirk. She knew he was gonna make a snarky comment.

"Baby, trust me, you'll know when I'm eating you."

"Eww," Charlotte placed a disgusted look on her face, pursing her lips before shaking her head and letting out a chortle, "Get in the car Casanova; I hope you don't romance all the girls that way!"

While they began to drive again, Charlotte leaned back against the door and stared intensely at Damon. He turned his head when he noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing." She told him. "You just remind me of someone, that's all."

"Oh and who do I remind you of?" he asked.

"I don't know his name. But he always makes crude comments like you."

"Is it this dream guy of yours?" Charlotte liked this Damon, he was easy going and he actually sounded interested in her life.

"Yea, every time I wake up, I can never remember though. You know? You have a dream and the picture is so clear and the moment you wake up, you just draw blank. I remember his words and our actions, but just once I want to wake up and remember his face or even his name." Charlotte paused, and Damon motioned his hand, a thoughtful look on his face, encouraging her to keep going.

He wanted her to trust him; he wanted to be her rock. When he came to Mystic Falls, she was the only one to embrace him and not push him away. Whenever he needed someone, as much as he didn't want to admit that he did, he went to her.

"There are times when I swear I know he's out there and that he's real and I'll be able to really touch him one day, to feel him. I'd give up anything," Tears started coming to her eyes and Damon reached one hand over and gently wiped the ones that had fell away.

Charlotte didn't say anything after that and Damon grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it softly, before he brought it back to her lap, never letting go.

She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, a man was staring out across a lake. He had a far off look in his eyes.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when another man approached him.

"Any signs of the doppelganger?" He asked only to be told the same thing he'd been hearing for the past century. There was no sign of her. "Well look harder."

He dismissed the man and went back to his thoughts, reaching into his shirt to pull out the gold chain, but he was only interested in what was hanging off of it.

He lifted it to his face, and gazed deeply at the ring; it sparkled in the glare of the hot sun. And then he remembered…

"_Charlotte," he yelled, running through the trees and out into the clearing where he saw her, her skin glowing from the moonlight. He was heavily breathing when he approached her. _

"_My love, what is it? What's wrong?" Charlotte asked. She held a look of worry on her face._

"_Nothing, nothing at all," he whispered to her. He grabbed both of her hands in one of his, his other cupping something in its palm. "I need to ask you something!"_

_And he dropped to both knees, grasping her hips._

"_Marry me! We can run away together, just the two of us and we'll never have to look back! We can start a family and have children that have my golden hair and your beautiful eyes! Please! Say yes!" He pleaded, staring up at her, the ring that he was holding between two fingers shining in the moonlight._

_A smile broke out on Charlotte's face and her eyes filled to the brim with tears._

"_Niklaus, sweetheart, what about our family? Your brothers and your sister! Would you really want to leave them?" she questioned._

_He rose to his feet and cupped her cheeks._

"_They don't matter. None of it matters. As long as we have each other we'll be alright."_

_Charlotte started nodding her head wildly, making him chuckle. He slipped the tiny band onto her delicate finger. And steadied himself as she launched into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck and kissing him all over his face._

"_Together, forever?" he whispered, gazing into her eyes._

"_Always." She whispered back softly, and he tilted her chin up, bringing his lips down upon hers in a passionate kiss. _

_The moonlight shining down like a spotlight upon them…_

Charlotte awoke from the dream; she could still feel his kiss. She looked around her and saw civilization.

"We almost there?" she asked Damon, who only nodded his head.

"So where's my car?" She remembered.

"I pulled it off the side of the road." He told her. Charlotte raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"So you can pull a car off the side of the road, but you can't flip one back over when there's a damsel in distress inside?" She mocked.

"It was harder than it looked, okay?" He defended.

"So...that man...was he a vampire?"

"From what I could tell."

"And you didn't know him?"

"If I've never met him, I wouldn't know him. I mean it's not like we all hang out at the Vamp Bar and Grill." He smirked.

"Well excuse me for assuming otherwise." Charlotte teased. He reached over and pinched her leg.

"Damon! Oww that hurt!" Her eyes then started to fill with tears. Damon had a look of regret on his face and was about to apologize before Charlotte exploded into giggles.

"Ha ha ha…gotcha!" she laughed out. Damon only shook his head. She was a funny girl.

"I am the ultimate champ at producing itty bitty crwocodile tears!" she stated the latter in a baby voice.

Damon then pulled the car into the parking lot of a bar.

"Wait, you brought me to a bar?" Charlotte asked. "I'm not old enough Damon, they're not gonna let me in."

"Sure they will!" He ran over to her side of the car and helped her out.

They walked into the bar and she jumped at a female voice shouting out in surprise.

"No! No, it can't be. Damon. My honey pie." A tall black woman jumped over the bar and made her way over to Damon. Immediately she planted a kiss on his lips, which he happily returned. Charlotte's face clearly showed that she was grossed out.

"Listen up everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness! Drink up! Woo!" She cheered and then they proceeded to make out in front of her.

Charlotte's stomach lurched. Yep, she was about to throw up.

She made her way over to a stool at the bar and avoided looking at Damon, or the woman, as they came over. The woman went behind the bar and licked her lips as Damon took a seat next to her. She glanced at Charlotte and a look of recognition passed through her eyes, but was quickly replaced.

"So, how'd he rope you in?" She asked winking.

"What? Oh, no I'm not roped-"

"Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way just enjoy the ride." She said, drying off a glass.

"Okay. Sure." Charlotte said pursing her lips. She glanced at Damon and saw him chuckling.

She leaned over until her mouth was right by his ear.

"She's an old lady Damon!" she stated, eyes wide and jaw tight, "Do you normally make out with old ladies?"

Charlotte quickly pulled away when the woman pulled out two shots and handed one to her. She slapped Damon's hand away when she saw him reaching for it.

"If this is what I'm going to have to tolerate all day, I'll _definitely_ be needing this." She told him and downed the shot. He watched in amusement and Charlotte could feel the alcohol burn while it went down her throat.

She looked at the woman across the bar and decided she needed some information.

"Okay so, how did you two meet?" she asked, already starting to feel a buzz coming on.

"College." Bree, who Charlotte later learned was her name, said. It was a lot better than 'the old lady'. She raised both her eyebrows at Damon.

"You went to college?" She asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

'_Yea right,'_ she thought.

He rolled his eyes.

"I've been to college _campus_, yes." He clarified. Now she understood.

"Well that makes more sense."

Bree laughed.

"About 20 years ago, when I was just a sweet, young freshman I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him more. Because, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody." She told Charlotte.

"She's a witch." Damon whispered in her ear. Charlotte felt her eyes widen at this news.

"Changed my world." Bree said, looking at Damon, licking her lips.

"I _rocked _your world." Damon teased.

"He is good in the sack, isn't he?" She was clearly waiting for my answer.

"Ewww…" was all that could come out of Charlotte's mouth.

"It's alright honey, we all know. Don't worry." She winked again. "But mostly he was just a walk-away Joe. So what is it that you want?" She asked him. Damon grinned.

"Oh Bree, you know me too well." He stated, and even though Charlotte didn't know Damon for that long, she always knew when he was up to something.

The two found themselves later munching on burgers and fries.

"So let's say Elena and I are descended from Katherine. Does that make me part vampire?"

"Vampires can't pro-create." Damon stated, before continuing with a sly smirk and a wiggle of his brows, "But we love to try."

Charlotte rolled her eyes at his immaturity and gave him a pointed look. She wanted a serious answer.

"No, if you were related it would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned."

"Did Stefan think he could use my sister to replace her? Did you think that too?"

"It's kind of creepy if you ask me on Stefan's part. But no, I'm not using her to replace Katherine because well. . . No one can." Damon said; you could hear the pain he was in just by talking of the vampire.

Damon took a bite of his French fries as Charlotte watched him curiously. Damon saw the look on her face.

"Ask away, pretty girl."

"How can you even eat? If technically you're supposed to be-"

"Dead?" Damon asked quietly mocking her nervousness of asking the question. "It's not such a bad word, as long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system. My body functions pretty normally."

"This nice act, is any of it real?" She asked, "Or are you being bipolar?"

But before he could answer, her phone rang and she looked at the Caller I.D. Yep it was Jenna, she definitely needed to answer this. She stood up from the bar stool and told Damon she'd be right back before walking out into the cool night air.

"Charlotte where are you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no I'm good everything's all good."

"It's not fine-"

"Hold on Jenna, I can't hear you."

"I got a call from-" Jenna began to say, but as Charlotte went to take a step, her heel snapped, causing her to lose her balance and topple to the ground.

"Damn it!" She muttered, and slowly pulled herself from the ground, grabbing her phone as she rose.

Before she could say anything however, a hand closed over her mouth and she was pulled from the bar, dropping her phone as she went.

"Don't move." The voice whispered and the person, who she knew was a vampire from the speed at which it was going, brought her into a dark alley.

"Wait, who are you?" She asked. There was no answer.

At the front of the bar, Charlotte heard the door open. When Damon turned the corner she saw the man who had taken her, holding a baseball bat.

"Damon, no!" She shouted but her call was too late. The man had attacked him.

Charlotte ran as fast as she could to Damon. When she reached him, the vampire was pouring gasoline all over him.

"No stop! Please!" She begged, grabbing onto his arm. He shoved her off.

"Who are you?" Damon asked once he could stop screaming.

"That's perfect, you don't even know." The man said.

"What are you talking about?" Charlotte asked. "What did he do?"

"He killed my girlfriend!" He seethed and raised the bat, beating Damon some more.

"Wait! Stop! Tell me! Tell me who your girlfriend was!" Charlotte was begging. Seeing Damon so vulnerable like this was terrifying. He needed help, and Charlotte would protect him, or die trying.

"My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon killed her, got it?" He snapped.

"_Lexi_?" she asked, disbelieving. The man took a lighter out causing her heart to jump to her throat.

"She-she said you were human!"

He turned to the teenage girl, pain and revenge in his eyes.

"You want to be with someone forever, you have to live forever." He said. He raised the lighter.

"She loved you! She told me that _'when it's real, you can't walk away.'_"

"Well that's a choice you're not going to have to live with." He said, still raising the lighter.

"Please no! Please don't hurt him! Don't!"

"I'm doing you a favor!" He said.

"Lexi loved you! And she was good so that must mean you're good too! I'm begging you! Don't be like him! Please!" He closed the lighter.

"Thank you." Charlotte whispered. He turned to her.

"It wasn't for you." He said. He lifted Damon up by his collar and threw him back into a garage door, before running off. Charlotte sprinted towards Damon.

"Damon, are you okay? Are you alright?" She asked, pushing his hair away from his face and he looked up at her.

"Thanks." He said, and Charlotte could tell he was grateful. She helped stand onto his feet.

"So are we gonna keep taking turns?" She asked him, he looked at her quizzically.

"You know, one of us being Snow White and the other being Prince Charming?" she explained further. "I've been your Prince Charming a lot lately."

She then walked further ahead of him before calling back,

"You're welcome Snow!"

Damon let out a chuckle and she turned back asking what was so funny. He only pointed to her shoe and she let out a scowl.

"That's _your_ fault you know!"

"Come here, I'll fix it." He told her and she walked over to him, wondering how he could possibly do that.

He kneeled down and took the shoe that still had the heel and snapped it off before slipping her shoe back on her foot and tossing the extra part over his shoulder. He had a goofy smile on his face.

"Damon!" Charlotte laughed. "You weren't supposed to ruin the other one!"

"Well, now they're even." He told her, sending her a wink.

He walked her over to his car and told her he'd be quick before he walked back into the bar. Charlotte had so many thoughts running through her mind. She liked Damon. And she was surprised that she had such a good time with him. But she knew she'd be in a lot of trouble when she got home.

A few minutes later, Damon walked back out and got in the car, starting the engine.

"You so owe me," Charlotte told him after they were driving down the road for a few minutes.

"Really? Because I thought we were even?" Damon chuckled, "You know, you save my ass, I save yours…"

"Yea but you've saved my ass, what? Like once. I've saved yours multiple times!" She exclaimed. And the two bickered back and forth for a while until Charlotte suddenly turned serious.

"Thank you, for today; I actually had a lot of fun. But next time we take a road trip, we need some tunes, and I need some comfy clothes!"

Damon laughed.

"It's a date!"

The duo then drove until they pulled up in front of the boarding house. Charlotte walked through the front door and slipped off her broken shoes and made her way barefooted up to Stefan's room.

Before she could even get in the room all the way Elena launched herself at her and pulled her tightly into her chest.

"Ohhh thank god you're alright!" She mumbled into her sister's hair. Charlotte just rubbed her back.

"So tell us what you know big guy," she said to Stefan once Elena had detached herself from her.

"What do you want to know?" He asked.

"Why do I look exactly like Katherine?" Elena asked.

"You are _not_Katherine. You are the opposite everything that she was." He said to her pointedly.

"When did you figure that out Stefan? Before you kissed me? Before we _slept _together?" Elena spat. Charlotte was shocked when her sister said this.

'_Why didn't she tell me?'_ she thought.

"Before I met you." He said.

"What?" Charlotte asked.

"The first day of school, when we all met, wasn't the first time." He told the sisters.

"Wha-how?" she stumbled over her words. Elena however was at a loss.

"Then when was it?" Elena finally asked.

"May 23, 2009." He said.

Charlotte's throat got thick, she felt like she couldn't breath. She knew that date by heart. He couldn't have met them then.

"But that was the day our parents car went off the bridge." She stated, choked up.

Stefan nodded.

Elena put her hand to her mouth.

"Every couple of years I would come back here to see Zach and see my home. Last spring, I was out in the woods, by old Wickery Bridge. And I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged. Your dad was still- he was still conscious. I was able to get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him, until I helped you two." He said.

Tears fell from the sisters' eyes and Charlotte reached over, clutching onto Elena tightly.

"Oh my god. When we woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how we got out of the car. They said it was a miracle." Elena choked.

"I went back for them. But it was too late. I couldn't- I couldn't save them. When I pulled you out, I looked at your face. You looked like Katherine. I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren't her. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Katherine. And I wanted to leave town, but, I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you and your sister, Elena. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you. I wanted to. But you were so sad.-"

"Why does she look like her?" Charlotte cut him off.

"Charlie you've been through so much-"

"_Why _do I look like her?" Elena asked.

"It didn't make any sense to me. You were Gilbert's. She was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth." He paused, looking at both of them. He was waiting for them to let him go on. They nodded. "You were adopted Elena, you both were." He said.

"How do you know?" Elena asked.

"Your birth certificates from the city records. Says Elena and Charlotte Gilbert Mystic Falls General. But there's no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant." He said, kneeling down toward both of us. "But there's something else. The original birth certificates have different dates."

The girls didn't understand what that meant. What he said next was going to break the girls' hearts even more.

"Charlotte, Elena, you guys aren't biologically sisters. Your parents apparently found her outside of your dad's office a few days after you were born Elena; I checked into police files and there was a big investigation about a baby, they couldn't find out where she came from or who she belonged to, but your parents kept you and made it so everyone would believe you were twins so no one would ask questions."

Charlotte let out a sob.

"So someone just left me on a sidewalk like a pile of trash?" Elena grabbed her sister's chin and turned her so she could look at her.

"It doesn't change anything Charlie! We're still family; you're still my sister!"

"What else do you know?" she asked, sniffling, wiping some of the tears away.

"For me to go any further, I would've had to look into the Pierce family, and I couldn't do that. It's too much of a risk. If someone found out I was asking about Katherine-Listen to me, it doesn't matter. Elena listen, you are the woman I love. I love you." He said to her. Elena and Charlotte stood up and Elena went over to Stefan. He wrapped her tightly in his arms.

Charlotte walked from the room not wanting to interrupt. She was walking downstairs and she saw Damon standing at the bottom, he looked up at her with pity. He had heard everything. She finished walking the rest of the way down the stairs and walked right into his open arms. He held her tightly as she cried into his chest, kissing the crown of her head, soothing her with sweet words.

When the girls got home that night they were greeted by an angry Jenna.

"I don't set a lot of rules, Charlie. Not with you. I trust you to tell me the truth. Where were you? Why would you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that." She said.

Elena laughed bitterly. Charlotte could only clench her jaw.

"Now is not the time you want to talk to me about lies." Charlotte said.

"Don't do that. Don't turn this back on me. I didn't do anything." She defended.

"Okay-question: Are we adopted?" By the look on her face, the girls knew what Stefan had told them was completely true. Elena scoffed.

"We trust you to tell us the truth too, Jenna. How could you not tell us? I thought we were closer than that." Elena mocked and grabbed her younger sister's hand, pulling both of them upstairs.

"Girls! I-we-they asked me not to!" Jenna called after them, her voice pleading.

The sisters made their way to Elena's bed, not even bothering to change from their clothes before dropping down and holding each other as they cried. Both wondering about their birth parents until exhaustion finally settled in and they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfit link in profile.**

So in this chapter, Damon and Charlie's friendship grows deeper. And we get to see Klaus; in person and in dream/memory! And Charlotte and Elena find out some bad news.

Also, one of my readers pointed something out to me so I will be making some changes to some of my previous chapters in the coming days or when I'm done writing the season 1 episodes.

So yay or nay? Leave your thoughts and any ideas!

I was watching Clash of the Titans and that was my inspiration for the first dream in this chapter.

**susl: **I'm making it so that this is the first time Charlotte's been born since the last thousand years. So any time period before Klaus and the Originals was when she was born over and over.


	12. Chapter 11: Unpleasantville

Chapter 11: Unpleasantville

When Charlotte woke up that morning, all she really wanted to do was go down to the police station and question Sheriff Forbes. But she decided to wait until she and her sister talked to Aunt Jenna. She now found herself in Elena's room being interrogated by Stefan.

"Charlie, do you remember anything else about him? Anything at all?"

Stefan was speaking of the man she hit in the road the other night.

"I wish Stef, but all I remember is that he was wearing a black hoodie and he had on black boots. I could see them walking towards me. He had the hood up! That's why I can't tell you what he looks like."

Stefan only pursed his lips and nodded at her answer.

"I brought some vervain for, um—for you girls and Jenna." He told them, pulling a wooden box out from behind him. "And, um, I made this bracelet for Jeremy, few extra ones for friends. You can put it in jewelry, or you can even put it in food or drinks, but as long as it's on you or in you, a vampire cannot control you."

He handed the box to Elena and she pulled out a necklace and went to hand it over to Charlotte before Stefan's hand closed around her wrist.

"She doesn't need it."

Elena looked up at him quizzically.

"At the football game, Damon tried to compel her; it didn't even affect her. She resisted."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that out."

Charlotte decided to speak.

"How can we be so sure it wasn't just a one time thing?" she exclaimed. "We should test this shit out…compel me!"

Stefan let out a chuckle and walked till he was standing right in front of her. He placed his hands on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. Charlotte could see his pupils dilating.

"Pick your nose."

Charlotte brought both her hands up and slapped them to Stefan's chest.

"Stefan!" she guffawed. "Of all the things you could have tried to make me do! And you tell me to _pick my nose_!"

The couple laughed at Charlotte's expression. She was about to speak again before they heard Jeremy call from downstairs.

"Elena! Charlie! I need the money!"

Elena looked at Charlotte and the younger sister let out a huff before she walked out of the room and into her own to grab her wallet. She walked downstairs and smiled at the delivery guy who was standing in the entryway.

"Thank you and you have yourself a good night." He told her once she handed him the money and he turned and walked out of the door, shutting it behind him.

She looked at her brother as he was heading towards the kitchen with the pizza.

"And you couldn't pay because?"

"You're my older sister," he Jeremy stated matter-of-factly. "It's your job to feed me!"

It was later that night when Charlotte decided to turn into bed. She was walking out of her bathroom when she looked up and saw Damon lounging back on her bed.

"Oh jeeze! And to what do I owe this pleasure Mr. Salvatore?" Charlotte mocked quirking a brow.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you. We have spoken since our _road trip_." He told her, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Correction; we haven't spoken since you _kidnapped_ me!" She stated, smirking playfully.

Charlotte walked over to her bed and pushed Damon so that he would move over. She crawled in next to him and looked up.

"Promise not to laugh?"

Once he nodded his head, she continued.

"I kind of missed your company."

Damon turned on his side to face her and gazed into her eyes as he laid his head on her pillow.

"I kind of missed you too, pretty girl."

Charlotte pushed his shoulder so that he would lie back down on his back. She scooted closer to him and laid her head down on his chest, her heavy eyelids falling closed.

"Will you stay until I fall asleep?" she whispered.

"Of course."

But she didn't hear him as she was already fast asleep.

_Two teenage girls were walking through the wild flowers, picking the ones that they though were beautiful. One of these girls held a secret that she was just dying to tell her best friend._

"_Rebekah," she paused, taking a deep breath. "There is something I need to tell you…Niklaus…he has asked me to marry him!"_

_The girl was suddenly on the hard ground, the blonde haired girl was on top of her, squeezing her tightly. Rebekah lifted herself up, pulling her friend with her._

"_Oh, Charlotte! When did this happen? Where did he do it?" She started firing off question after question with only one breath._

_Charlotte chuckled._

"_Bekah, slow down! I will answer you but you must not say a word to anyone! Promise?"_

_Rebekah nodded her head fiercely and held out her pinky._

"_Promise!"_

_And after the girls locked pinkies, they continued to walk as Charlotte started to explain. _

"_We were in the clearing and he asked me to run away with him and that we'd marry and start a family—"_

"_You said yes right! You said yes?" Rebekah exclaimed cutting her off._

"_Of course I said yes Bekah! But did you not hear what I just said! We'll be leaving you, Elijah, Kol; we'll be leaving you all!" Charlotte stated sadly.  
_

_Rebekah turned and smiled at her._

"_But it doesn't matter! Because you'll have each other and who's to say that we'll never see each other again? Hmm? Exactly! Besides, I can't wait to see the beautiful babies you'll make!"_

_Rebekah stopped speaking when she saw that Charlotte was no longer listening. She had a longing look in her eyes and a small smile was playing on her lips. She followed the brunette's line of sight to and saw what had captured her attention._

_There in the center of the village was her brothers' play fighting with swords. Charlotte's gaze was locked on Niklaus who was laughing and cheering boisterously. _

"_You really love him, don't you?"_

_Charlotte's gaze stayed locked on the golden haired man as she answered the obvious question._

"_Even if the world ends; I will **never** stop loving him!"_

Charlotte found herself at the school the next morning with Elena. They had met up with Caroline and were now sitting at a table in the courtyard.

"Oh, oh! Elena! Give her the necklace!"

Elena pulled the necklace from her pocket and handed it to Caroline.

"It's so pretty." Caroline said admiring the necklace.

"Good, we're glad you think so!"

"It will go with like everything." She gushed, "What's the occasion?"

"There isn't one. We just thought that we would give you a friend necklace." Charlotte responded attempting to wiggle her brows but it just caused the girls across from her to giggle.

"Lesbian friend gift? Cause we're freaky like that?" Caroline asked winking in Charlotte's direction. She played along and licked her lips, giving her best friend a flirty stare. Elena decided to interrupt them.

"Your friendship is important to us Care." Elena told their blonde haired friend.

"So… why are you girls being so mushy?"

"Because you've been avoiding me." Elena told her. "And I wanted you to know that whatever is going on between you and Matt, is okay."

Caroline's smile fell once she heard Elena say this.

"I was gonna talk to you about that. I was, but there's just not much to say. We've hung out a couple times. That's it, but... I just feel like we've peaked as friends. This is weird. I shouldn't be talking to you about this. It's weird. It's weird, right?" She directed the last question to Charlotte.

"It's a little weird I guess?" Charlotte teased chuckling.

"Yeah it is a little; but hey, if it's what you and Matt want, then it's not about me." Elena said reassuring her.

"But it's all about you. Matt's still not over you, and we all know it." Caroline said sadly.

Charlotte felt bad and reached over the table and rubbed her best friend's arm softly. If anyone deserved a guy as good as Matt, it was Caroline.

"Elena's with Stefan, Caroline. Matt knows that. He knows he has to move on." She told her, and the blonde could only nod her head.

The bell rang and the girls got up and headed to their prospective classes.

It was after school when the sisters found themselves eating at the grill with Bonnie.

"I cannot believe you two are adopted." Bonnie said. The girls had just told her the information that they had just received. "I can't believe your not even sisters."

"We are sisters Bonnie! Regardless of us not sharing the same blood; and believe me; we didn't see it coming either." Charlotte muttered, shoving another fry in her mouth.

"And it gets weirder. I looked at our birth certificates. They list Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as our birthparents. None of it makes any sense." Elena said, sighing.

Bonnie looked at them like she had the answer to all of their problems.

"Which is why you should ask Jenna. First of all, the Gilbert Twin's I know would always want the real truth, good or bad." She said.

"Too bad we're not even real Gilbert's. Besides I was just left abandoned on a side walk. So, only Elena can find out anything."

Bonnie gave Charlotte a look, and the hazel eyed girl only rolled her eyes and looked away.

"And second of all?" Elena asked.

"You just found out your boyfriend is a vampire, so unless your birth parents are aliens... How bad could it be?" Bonnie answered.

Charlotte didn't want to discuss this anymore and Elena could see it written clearly across her face.

"Ah, ok, look, we have to go to the store. My outfit for the dance is severely lacking accessories, c'mon Charlie." Elena said getting up from her chair and pulling on her sister's arm.

"Okay, I'll pay the bill." Bonnie told them before both girls bid goodbye and headed towards the exit.

Charlotte and Elena headed outside to her car when Elena bumped her hip.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Well jeeze I don't know Elena, let me think. Ummm we just found out that our whole entire life has been a lie, that technically, we're not sisters, ohh I know; I was left on a side walk!" Charlotte listed off, she was bitter. It was plain for anyone who knew her to see.

An appalled look came to her face when Elena laughed.

"Really, okay I know, it's not funny. But how many times are you gonna say that?"

"Well sorry! I guess I'm just a big ball of misery."

Elena stopped walking and grabbed Charlotte's arm. She lifted her hands up and cupped her sister's cheeks.

"Hey it's alright Charlie. We'll figure everything out."

"Maybe for you Elena, but not for me; everyone already tried to figure things out 17 years ago. But I promise you that I'll be there every step of the way if you want to find your birth parents. I'll help because no matter what, you're my sister and I love you. We're twins regardless. Besides we already have our nifty little twin powers. Nobody could ever take that away from us." Charlotte told her sister sincerely but chuckled at the end of her speech.

Elena wrapped her in a tight hug and went to say something but her phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Charlie." The voice on the other line was clearly male, and he sounded familiar.

"Hey, who's this?" She asked a confused looked on her face.

"You hit me with your car. Is that a new one? Or your sister's?"

Charlotte swore she felt her heart stop. She looked at Elena's car and spun around looking wildly for any sign that someone was watching them.

"What it is, Charlie?" Elena asked her.

"Elena get in the car!" She whispered, her voice was shaky as she pushed her sister to get in the car, seeing the man with a black hoodie and boots at the end of the road.

"You won't get away from me, this time. Tell your sister that I'll be seeing her." He threatened.

"What?" Elena asked, she was frightened.

"It's that vampire I hit with my car! Now drive! Please!"

Elena drove to Stefan's house breaking every speed limit. When they finally pulled into the driveway they rushed out of the car and flew through the boarding house's front door.

Stefan sat the girls down on the couch before they started to talk.

"Why me? What does he want with me? I mean if he wants to kill me then why call first? And I don't even think it's me he even wants. He told me to tell Elena that he'd be seeing her. Maybe he knows Katherine. Maybe he thinks that Elena's her." Charlotte shouted frustrated.

"That's because we're predators, Charlie. We hunt. We stalk. It's often as exciting as the kill. I want you both to take this." Stefan handed Elena a golden watch.

"This is Jeremy's. How did you get it?" Charlotte asked once she recognized it.

"I took it from Damon, who took it from Logan, who must have taken it from you." He said.

Charlotte nodded and took it from Elena. She opened it up to find that the inside had changed. Instead of numbers, there was a compass.

"What happened to it?" Elena asked.

"Well, it's not just a watch. It's a-it's a sort of compass, but it points to vampires."

As he said this the needle began to flicker in every direction, until finally landing right in front of the sisters, pointing at Stefan.

Charlotte looked up at him, a surprised look on her face.

"Why did our dad have it?"

"The Gilberts were one of the founding families, and back in 1864, they were among those who sought to eradicate the vampires. The compass was used to find us." He told them.

"Did...did you know them?" Elena asked. He nodded.

"Yes. And I want you to keep this, that way you'll know if you're ever in danger." He said.

Elena and Charlotte exchanged glances and nodded their heads before Elena stood and kissed Stefan.

"Spoke to the insurance company. Car's totaled. You can keep using mine for now." Aunt Jenna said. Charlotte nodded at her not looking up. She was still kinda pissed at her.

"Are you going to the dance?" Elena asked.

Charlotte lifted her head to see her dressed for the dance.

"Alaric asked me to help chaperone." She said with a small smile.

She wanted to be happy for her aunt, but at the moment she wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"Why didn't you tell us, Jenna?" Charlotte asked.

Jenna looked down, her smile wavering and she sighed. She looked at both of the girls with a heartfelt look on her face.

"Your mom was gonna do it eventually." She finally admitted.

"If our mom were here right now, and we asked, she'd tell us the truth." Elena stated.

Jenna nodded, a defeated look on her face.

"Your dad was about to leave the office one night when this girl showed up. She was 16, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her baby, and he gave her a place to stay, but a few days later, she disappeared. And there you were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby. I-it just wasn't happening. All Miranda ever wanted was to be a mom."

Jenna's voice was growing thick with grief for her deceased sister.

"A few days after that, your dad was coming into the office and there you were Charlie, wrapped in a blanket just outside the door. He called Liz Forbes and they looked everywhere trying to find out where you had came from but they found no leads. It was just like you appeared out of thin air. So he brought you home and your mother fell in love, so they kept you."

"Well, why were our parents' names on the birth certificates?" Elena asked once she was finished speaking.

"Your dad was a doctor, he took care of it. They didn't want to lose you two, so they kept it quiet, told as little people as possible. But if anyone wanted proof, they had documentation." Jenna said shrugging.

Charlotte decided to ask the question she knew her sister was too afraid to ask. She promised her sister she would help.

"What else do you know about her? The girl? Elena's birth mother?"

"Just her name. Isobel."

The sisters decided they were going to have fun tonight. No sadness. And no drama. They were getting ready in Elena's bathroom when they heard a noise.

"Hey Jenna? Jenna? Jeremy?" Elena called walking back into her room.

Charlotte followed the whizzing noise and saw the compass on the bed, spinning out of control.

"Elena…"

She picked up Elena's phone from her nightstand and dialed Stefan's number. After it rang a few times someone finally picked up.

"Stefan's phone. How may I help you?"

Elena and Charlotte were stampeding down the stairs as she was speaking to him.

"Damon, where's Stefan?"

"Oh well hello Charlie!"

"Damon, now is not the time! Where's Stefan?" she demanded.

"Relax, he's on his way to your sister. Forgot his phone." He said.

Charlotte let out a sigh of relief, before she turned and told her sister that it was only Stefan. They both relaxed at that thought.

"Oh thank god. The compass was spinning. Stefan must be here. Thanks."

"_Charlotte_!"

Just as soon the hands grabbed her, they were torn off. Stefan was there and Elena and her watched as another vampire ran through the house and out the door.

Stefan walked to Charlotte and cupped her face, checking to see if she was okay before turning to Elena and wrapping her in his arms.

It was a few seconds later when Damon appeared. He had heard everything through the phone she had dropped.

"You're gonna wear a hole in my floor from all that pacing!" Charlotte scolded.

Damon was pacing furiously in the living room as the three others sat on the couch.

"How did he get in?" he asked, ignoring her previous comment.

"He posed as a pizza delivery guy last night." Stefan said causing Damon to give a humorless laugh.

"Well he gets points for _that_. Did he say what he wanted?"

Elena let out a scoff before snapping at him.

"No, Damon. He was too busy trying to _kill _my sister!"

Damon lifted his hands up in surrender. Yep, it was quite obvious that she didn't like him.

"And you had no idea who this is?" Stefan asked.

Damon shook his head, looking at Charlotte.

"Don't look at me like that, I told you we had company." He said.

"Do you think there's more than one?" She asked.

"We don't know." He said placing his hands on his hips.

"Damon...he was invited in." Stefan said, looking intently at his brother, and then glanced at the girls. Damon nodded, pursing his lips.

"Then we get him tonight." He said, looking between the sisters.

"You up for it, Charlie?"

"What? No!" Charlotte turned to look at her sister, "Drama free night. Remember? Vampires equal drama."

When Elena only gave her a pointed look, she just shook her head and let out a fed up huff.

"Ugh. Fine. What do I have to do?"

"Nothing. Let Stefan take Elena to the dance. I'll take you, and we see who shows up." Damon said and grabbed her hand, pulling her off the couch and twirling her around.

"You look hot." He whistled.

Elena glared at him and Stefan could only clench his jaw.

"That's a bad idea." Stefan said. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Till we get him, this house isn't safe. For anyone who lives in it. It's worth a shot." He said.

"We'll do it. We'll be with you two. We'll be safe." Elena told the brothers.

Charlotte let out a laugh.

"Don't feel too comfortable sis; Damon has a bit of a Snow White complex." She teased towards Damon, a mocking gleam twinkling in her hazel eyes.

She whirled around and walked to the front door before turning.

"You guys coming or what?"

The sisters were standing by the punch bowl, looking around the room to see if they noticed something out of place. Specifically that vampire. They turned their heads and noticed Bonnie and Caroline approaching.

"Having fun?" Elena asked with a smile.

"No, but this," Caroline said gesturing to her outfit and hair, "Took about two hours, so I might as well stay half of that."

The friends giggled at her comment. Bonnie's laughter abruptly stopped at what she saw over her friend's shoulder.

"What's Damon doing here?" Bonnie asked.

The sisters turned to see Damon next to Stefan looking around the room and whispering to each other. He caught them staring and smirked and sent them a wink. Charlotte only rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't worry about it. It's just his turn to play Prince Charming tonight." She answered. "He'll behave. I've got him on a short leash."

Charlotte was trying not to laugh. She knew that Damon could hear every word she was saying.

"So what is this, a four-some now?" Caroline asked no one in particular, "The Gilbert sisters and the Salvatore brothers?"

"No, but if I'm going to be with Stefan then we," Elena said motioning to her and Charlotte, "Have to learn how to tolerate Damon. And he wanted to come."

"Oh shush Elena, he's not that bad. And besides, it's not like we can just kill him." Charlotte told her sister.

"There's a thought." Bonnie said glaring over her shoulder at Damon.

"I'll help." Caroline added bumping her punch glass with Bonnie's.

Elena and Charlotte rolled their eyes.

"Hi Bonnie, wanna dance?" Damon asked smirking.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." She muttered under her breath.

Damon hip checked her.

"I'm out of here." Bonnie said glaring at him, and turning away. But before she could walk away he caught her by her wrist.

"Please give me another chance?" Damon asked; he was clearly mocking her.

Bonnie only scoffed and walked away.

"Back off Damon." Caroline said sternly, and then turned, following Bonnie.

Elena turned and focused a glare on him.

"Elena, would you like to dance?" He said. Suddenly her face brightened up.

"I would love to." She said and winked at her sister, twirling around and grabbing Stefan's hand.

"Stefan, would you care to dance?" She asked.

Charlotte laughed. _'In your face Damon!'_

"Not at all." Stefan said and they went onto the dance floor.

Charlotte went to walk away from Damon when he suddenly grabbed her arm and spun her into his chest.

"Ehh, I guess you'll have to do." He told her.

Charlotte knew he was teasing and decided to play along.

"Why Mr. Salvatore, is that any way to treat your date?"

"You know you're the _only_ one I want to dance with."

He pulled her out onto the dance floor, grasping her waist with one hand and grabbing one of her's with his other.

"You know," he said, making Charlotte look up at him. "Fifty's suit you."

"Ohh god no! I would've wanted to be around for the 20's or the colonial days. Oh oh oh! The 70's! Yea the 70's! With Studio 54!"

Damon laughed seeing how excited she was getting. She pulled out of his grip and started singing Rose Royce's 'Car Wash' while attempting to perfect the American Hustle. He pulled her back into his arms.

"This is the 50's dance, not the 70's."

Damon couldn't believe how much he enjoyed Charlotte's company. She was a breath of fresh air for him.

"You have to tell me all about it Damon!" She demanded smiling up at him. And Damon could only nod his head; he couldn't deny her.

Across the floor, their siblings were watching as bright smiles lit up on Damon's and Charlotte's faces. Stefan could hear their laughter and both could practically feel the joy radiating from the two.

"Show me how it was done in the 50's." Charlotte said giggling.

"What make's you think I know?"

"Well for one your Damon Salvatore and I can so see you doing it, and two don't you want to show your brother up? I bet he is going to do it with Elena."

"Fine, but only because I can beat my little brother," He told her smirking.

All of a sudden, she felt her feet come off the floor. He swung her so her head almost reached the floor and then he swung her to the other side.

Charlotte could only throw her head back in delight. She was having a blast.

Damon dipped her back and winked at her, making her laugh even more. He pulled her upright and they went back to swaying to the music.

The mood was about to change drastically and it would all be because of Charlotte's big mouth.

"You're too good for her." She stated.

Damon only looked at her, he didn't understand.

"You're an amazing person Damon, and all I've heard about Katherine was that she was selfish and manipulative. You're better than that. And you _**deserve**_ more than that."

Damon didn't know what to say. How would he respond to that? He didn't know where to even begin. Charlotte seeing the conflicted look on his face just stood on her toes and placed a feather light kiss to his cheek before walking away to get a drink. She'd leave him to think on it.

She was standing by the punch bowl when she was pulled into Elena.

"He's here!"

"What? Where? Where are the boys?"

Elena's phone started to ring and she looked down at the I.D. before answering.

"No."

Charlotte was only getting one side of the conversation and she could see the fearful look on her sister's face.

"Don't you dare touch him!"

Elena grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the exit before breaking out into a full out sprint. They looked back to see the man coming up behind them before trying more doors but none of them would open.

Never letting go of each other's hands, they ran to the end of the hall and into the cafeteria. Before they could reach the exit, Elena was ripped from Charlotte's hand and thrown to the wall. Charlotte was knocked to the ground.

When she pulled herself back up, she saw Elena stabbing the vampire with wooden pencils. He had his hand wrapped around her throat and she could see her sister gasping for air.

'_I've done it before, I can do it again.'_ Charlotte thought.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before releasing all of her pent up anger and frustrations. Her fists were clenched and her eyes burned gold. When she lifted her head, she looked as if she wanted to kill.

"Let her go!"

When he didn't listen, the vampire went flying across the room and when he landed he started scratching at his chest before he laid back, his whole body tense, his painful screams echoing throughout the empty cafeteria.

"Charlotte!"

She looked up at Damon who called her name, she finally snapped from her daze and her hazel eyes slowly returned to normal. She rushed to Elena as Damon and Stefan pulled the vampire from the ground.

He quickly tried to escape but Stefan stabbed him in the stomach with the broken mop handle.

"Hey, dickhead. No one wants to kill you, just wanna talk."

"Screw you." The vampire muttered.

"Wrong answer." Stefan said and he dug the piece of wood in further.

"Why are you doing this?" Damon asked.

"Because it's fun." He said weakly, looking at Elena.

"What do you want with my sister?"

"She looks like Katherine."

Damon's eyebrows furrowed.

"You knew Katherine?"

The vampire laughed.

"Oh. You thought you were the only ones? You don't even remember me."

"Tell me how to get into the tomb." Damon demanded.

"No." Stefan growled slightly and pushed the make shift stake deeper into his stomach. "The grimoire."

"Where is it?" Damon hissed.

"Check the journal, Jonathan's journal, the journal. The Gilbert's."

"Who else is working with you?" Stefan asked.

"Who else is there!" Damon yelled.

"No, you're gonna have to kill me." The vampire said looking up at Stefan and Damon.

"Fine." Damon smirked, before he pulled the stake from the man's stomach and plunged it into his heart.

The vampire turned gray and desiccated.

"What do we- how are you going to find the others now?" Elena asked shakily.

"He would've died anyways." Damon said looking at Charlotte. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Charlie, Elena. He's been invited in." Stefan said to them both.

They looked towards the doors to see the history teacher looking in at the scene. Stefan told Damon he could take care of this and to go find Mr. Saltzman. Charlotte knew what that meant. He was going to compel him.

She turned to look at her sister.

"So much for having fun."

Charlotte was upstairs getting ready for bed and Elena was downstairs with Stefan.

_**Downstairs**_

"Doing okay?" Stefan called from the kitchen as Elena sat on the couch in the living room.

"Is it weird if I say yes?" she answered.

"Is it true?"

"I should feel more upset or scared or something, but I…feel kind of exhilarated."

"It's the adrenaline. You'll crash soon enough." He told her.

"Yeah, I guess. Me and Charlie, we fought back tonight. It felt good."

"I wish you didn't have to fight at all." He said coming into the living room and sitting beside her, handing her a mug of hot tea.

"Still,"

"But I need to tell you something and I don't know how you're going to feel about it."

"What?" Elena asked wearily.

"I told Damon that I'd help him get into that tomb to get Katherine back." He said softly, "But it was a lie I let him believe that he can trust me."

"Then why would you be afraid of telling us?"

"Damon's very persuasive and Charlie and him have. . . bonded lately. You saw them at the dance Elena. I haven't seen him like that in, I don't know how long. Whatever happened on that trip to Atlanta, they've gotten close."

"Yeah, that doesn't mean _I_ trust him." Elena said.

"I don't want to be his enemy, but I can't let him do it." Stefan told her letting out a sigh.

"Then don't and I'll help you, whatever it takes." Elena said.

"Okay." Stefan said, and then pulled her closer.

Meanwhile upstairs, Charlotte was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"It was real for me. She never compelled me. It was always real."

Charlotte jumped, before flipping on her bedside lamp.

"Jesus Damon, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

Damon was sitting on her window bench. His head was hung and his shoulders slumped.

"Come here? Take your shoes off."

Charlotte lifted the blankets and allowed Damon to crawl into bed with her. She held open one arm and pulled him into her chest. He laid his head down and she ran her finger nails along his scalp, lightly scratching.

"Tell me about her. Help me understand." She pleaded with him.

And so Damon did. And as he talked about her, Charlotte could hear the love and the yearning in his voice. She would never understand it but she could try to.

"I'll help you get her back Damon. I'll try my hardest to help you get her back." She whispered soothingly.

She felt her eyes get heavy with sleep and as hard as she tried to keep them open, they soon fell shut and she sank into a deep sleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfits in link on profile!**

Apologies if you got like a million emails earlier. I made some minor changes to the previous chapters, nothing too major. And I was hoping to get this chapter out earlier in the day but I just couldn't stay focused; I was getting distracted by too many things.

So in this chapter, the girls get some answers about the adoption and more Damon/Charlie bonding.

Question. Is Damon starting to seem out of character? Well I know he is but I have this certain vision of how I want him to be with Charlotte and it's kind of like he can be or say anything when he's with her. You know like they tease each other and tell each other their deepest feelings and thoughts that they wouldn't tell anyone else. But if you guys don't like it I can change it.

Leave your thoughts and ideas, constructive criticism or whatever you want!


	13. Chapter 12: Children of the Damned

**A/N**: Thanks for the reviews :) They make me keep focused and want to update more!

* * *

Chapter 12: Children of the Damned

_Rebekah and Charlotte were walking to the stables where the boys were bathing the horses in the heat of the sun. When the stables came into view, they stopped short when they saw the dark haired beauty that had her head thrown back in laughter, her small hands resting on Elijah and Niklaus' arms._

"_Ugh! Wretched wench!" Rebekah snarled._

"_She's not worth our anger Bekah. She is no one to us!" Charlotte told her._

"_Look at her! She knows Nik is taken and she already has Elijah wrapped around her finger! And now she wants both!" _

_The girls walked the rest of the way to the stables until they were standing with the trio. Niklaus turned to Charlotte and pulled her into his arms, pressing a soft kiss to her brow; but her thoughts were focused elsewhere._

"_Tatia here was just telling us a story." Elijah told his sisters._

"_I bet she was…"_

_Niklaus chuckled having heard the words his love muttered underneath her breath. _

_Tatia was staring scornfully at the woman wrapped in Niklaus' arms. She wanted him; she wanted both brothers. Rebekah noticed this look and gave Tatia a murderous glare of her own. _

_Her brothers were blissfully unaware; the golden haired man too focused on Charlotte who was playing with the ends of his hair and in Elijah's eyes, Tatia could do or say, no wrong._

_Tatia's eyes were still glued on the couple when she listened to the next words they spoke._

"_You are mine? Correct? Your heart? Your love?" Charlotte asked, tilting Niklaus' head down so she could gaze into his blue eyes. She needed the harlot to know who he belonged to._

"_Until my dying breath, love," He whispered, placing a sweet kiss on her soft, plump lips. "And we will find each other again in the after life."_

_She gave him one last smile before grabbing Rebekah's arm and pulling her away. Charlotte stopped next to Tatia and moved her head until her lips were just touching the shell of the girl's ear. _

"_Now you know. There is nothing you can ever do. Niklaus will always be mine!"_

_She gave the brunette one last pointed look and then she and Rebekah walked away. _

_While the friends were on the way back to their home, Rebekah sent the hazel eyed girl a questioning look. Charlotte grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her from going any further. She turned back to look at the stables. _

_Niklaus' attention was now focused on the horses, but when he felt her stare, he turned and sent her a lopsided grin, their eyes locking. _

"_He will always be mine, Bekah. Tatia will have to kill me before I ever let him go!"_

"Charrrrlieeeee… Charrrrlieeeee. Come on pretty girl, time to get up!"

Charlotte lifted her hand and waved it in the direction she heard the annoying voice come from.

"Go away Damon!"

"No can do! Time to get up and put our plan to work!" He walked over to her window and tore open the curtains.

"Ahh my eyes!" Charlotte groaned shoving the pillow into her face.

"Ohh relax cry baby, the suns not even that bright."

"It's not the sun! It's **_your_** face!"

Damon scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Charlotte! GET UP!"

But Charlotte didn't listen; she just lifted her pillow and shoved her head underneath it, holding it tightly by the sides. Suddenly she felt the blankets being torn off her and hands locking around her ankles. Next thing she knew, her face was eating the floor.

"DAMON! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Her door suddenly flew open. She turned her head to see her Aunt Jenna and looked around to find Damon gone.

"Charlie what are you doing on the floor?" Her aunt asked her.

She rolled her eyes and let out a huff.

"Nothing, I just had a dream that an _annoying_ person was disrupting my beauty sleep."

She knew that Damon was still here somewhere. When Aunt Jenna finally left her room, she heard him let out a chuckle.

"You're Snow White! Not Princess Aurora!"

Charlotte burst into giggles and she started flailing around on the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks from laughing so hard. She finally calmed down and lifted herself from the floor, patting Damon on the chest as she walked past him to her closet and started to tease him.

"I didn't know you were such an expert about your Disney princesses."

"Shut upppp! Get dressed and wear something comfy!" he told her, going to her bed and falling back on it.

Once Charlotte was dressed, she asked Damon what his big plan was.

"Well first we have to go the boarding house and wake up the two lovers and it will all be explained."

She was satisfied with his answer and went to walk out of her bedroom when she noticed Damon following her.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Nuh uhh. Out the window." She demanded. "If Jenna sees you she'll flip."

Damon just rolled his eyes and before she could blink he disappeared. She was walking down the stairs when she heard a knock at the door.

"Dumbass." She mumbled under her breath; she knew it was Damon. She threw open the door and gave him an 'are you kidding me' look and pushed him out of the way to walk out of the house. Damon just smirked, following after her.

When they finally pulled up to the boarding house, as soon as she stepped out of the car, Damon came around to the passenger side and tossed her over his shoulder. He zoomed into the house and up to Stefan's room, chucking her onto the bed on top of a cuddling Stefan and her sister.

"DAMON!"

"HEY?"

"What the hell? Charlotte your knee!"

Damon laughed and picked Charlotte up from the bed and placed her on the floor, holding her steady until she found her balance.

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads." He smirked pulling the hazel eyed girl by her waist and in front of him, resting his chin on her head.

"Damon! Please!" Elena growled.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked pulling the blankets up further to cover him and Elena.

"Oh stop being so smutty." Damon said.

Charlotte gave her sister an apologetic look. Elena looked as if she was ready to kill him.

"Seriously, get out of here!" She said.

"If I see something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a dollar at it."

Charlotte started to laugh when he said this, only to quickly shut up at the look Elena was throwing her.

"Stop being a dick Damon." She muttered, although you could clearly see a smile trying to break onto her face.

Damon only shrugged.

"Anyways, listen. We have some very important business to discuss." He said.

"And it has to be right now?" Stefan asked.

"Well, we have lots to do, now that we're all friends and working toward a common goal. So, in order to open the tomb, we need to find the journal to get the grimoire to get the spell. First things first-since you are Charlotte and Elena _Gilbert_, you two are on journal duty." Damon said smiling down at Charlotte and glancing at Elena.

"Wait, since when are we helping?" Elena asked.

"Well, you are helping because Stefan's helping, and you've taken up residence in Stefan's bed, ergo...and _you_-" He turned to Charlotte "-are helping because you're my new bestie and otherwise, I wouldn't have anyone to talk to. Plus Charlotte's the only one I trust completely." He said like a know-it-all.

"You girls don't have to do anything you don't want to." Stefan said.

"No, we'll look for it today." Charlotte nodded at Elena's answer. But she had no idea that her sister and Stefan had an entirely different plan.

Elena sighed and leaned back on the bed, closing her eyes.

"Good." Damon looked satisfied.

"How do we know that this journal will hold the location of the grimoire? We're really going to take the word of this vampire? He seemed like a dimwit." Stefan asked.

Charlotte laughed at that.

"We don't have any other options..." Damon said.

"Okay, what exactly is a grimoire?" Elena asked.

Charlotte was getting bored so she went to move to look around Stefan's room but before she could get far, Damon grabbed her elbow and pulled her back, putting an arm around her shoulders to keep her still.

"It's a witch's cookbook." Damon mocked.

"A spell book?" Charlotte stated as a question. Damon nodded his head.

"Every spell that a witch casts is unique unto itself, so every witch would document their work." Stefan elaborated.

"Like I said, cook book." He sighed, he was getting irritated.

"Oh shut up and stop complaining!" Charlotte moaned rolling her eyes; but she let out a yelp and glared up at him when Damon pinched her side.

"What about our mystery vampire? Dim-wit obviously wasn't working alone, so whoever is out there knows who we are." Stefan said.

"And I don't like that disadvantage, so...chop, chop." Damon demanded before chuckling, "You know, I really like this whole ménage-foursome team thing. It's got a bit of a kink to it. Don't screw it up."

He took Charlotte's hand and led her from the room and down the stairs.

Elena and Stefan were going through the box looking for the journal and talking about Damon. They stopped mid conversation however when Charlotte walked into the room; they didn't want her to know their plans.

"Find it yet?" The younger girl asked, only for the two to shake their heads no.

Jeremy walked into the room and saw they were rummaging through the box.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked them.

"Hey. Just going though some stuff, feeling sentimental. Dad had this old family journal from years ago. I thought we'd dig it up." Elena answered.

"Jonathan Gilbert's journal?"

"Yeah, what do you know about it?" Charlotte asked puzzled.

"I just did a history report on it."

Charlotte smiled. Damon was finally going to get Katherine back, even though she really didn't want to meet the bitch.

"So where is it now?" She questioned.

"I gave it to Mr. Saltzman. He wanted to see it."

Stefan stood up once Jeremy left the room and told the sisters that he would go and find it.

It was a little while later when Damon was in the kitchen of the Gilbert house cooking dinner and talking to Jenna who was drinking a glass of wine.

"My father never approved of any one I ever dated, which only made me want them more. Of course."

Charlotte was sitting Indian style on the counter top listening to them. The duo had been sharing stories of their past relationships.

"What about you Jenna, since we all know about the Lockwood kid." Damon asked, sending a mocking smile in Charlotte's direction.

"I've dated a few guys... Logan isn't the only loser I've dated." Jenna admitted.

"They ever find him?"

The teenage girl wanted to slap her hand to her forehead but only sent Damon a disbelieving look. The idiot!

"He still missing?"

"He's not missing; he's in the Bahamas working on his tan. Very entitled on that one, marching his own drum." Jenna said, drinking the rest of the wine from her glass. "He's a Fell, they're all snooty."

Damon noticed Jenna's glass was empty so he walked over and poured her more, chuckling. He was thinking about where Logan Fell really was.

Damon turned back to the food he was cutting, and without turning around he announced,

"Hello, Elena."

Charlotte looked behind her to see Elena and sent her a small smile.

"Hey where have you been?" Jenna asked curiously. "We're cooking dinner."

"Is Stefan with you?" Damon questioned.

"Umm, he'll be here soon." Elena told him.

Charlotte knew that something was going on; Stefan left a while a go. It shouldn't have taken him this long. She looked over to Damon and they shared a knowing look. The couple was up to something; but what it was? The friends didn't know.

Dinner was almost ready and Charlotte sent Elena to get the plates and silverware so that they could set the table. She saw Elena bump into Damon and walked closer so that she could hear their conversation.

"Well, yea, I was deliberately trying to get to the sink." Damon told Elena, before continuing. "Speaking of Stefan, where is he? He's missing family night, which I am enjoying immensely."

Then Charlotte could see him turn serious.

"Is it real?"

"Is what real?" Elena asked dumbfounded.

"This renewed sense of brotherhood. Can I trust him?"

"Yes, you can trust him."

He stepped closer to Elena and looked at her in the eyes with an intense stare.

"Can I trust him?" He asked her again.

"I'm wearing vervain, Damon. It's not going to work."

Charlotte knew that Damon wasn't compelling her, he never would. She could see that deep down, Damon was starting to feel for Elena, or maybe he already did feel something.

"I'm not compelling you. I just want you to answer me. Honestly."

And Charlotte listened as her sister told her next lie.

"Of course you can."

Charlotte turned away, clenching her jaw. Now she knew that her sister and Stefan were up to something. She just didn't know how to tell Damon.

When she caught Damon by himself she pulled him away from any prying ears.

"Damon I don't think you can trust them."

"What do you mean?" He asked her.

Charlotte swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up, her hazel eyes burning with so much emotion.

"Bringing Katherine back. That means that there's a chance the other vampires in the tomb getting out. Look, I know my sister! She would never want…and neither would I but…these vampires will want revenge Damon! You don't think that if they happen to get out that they'll just leave town merrily? They'll kill people! And I don't have a doubt in my mind that they'll want to suck the members of the Founding Families dry. Is that enough to help you understand why you can't trust him?" She stated trying to get her point across.

Damon only nodded his head.

"Elena doesn't even want you in town. Much less however many vampires."

She grabbed his face so he would look at her.

"Do you understand?"

"Can I trust _you_?" He asked her, blue eyes accusing.

Charlotte was taken aback by this question.

"Have I ever given you a reason that you couldn't trust me Damon?" She reiterated. "Of _course_ you can trust me. You _always_ can. I made you a promise and it's not one that I'm going to break. Do _you_ trust me?"

He nodded his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning and walking back into the kitchen.

'_Oh crap! I just sold out my sister.'_ Was the only thing racing through Charlotte's mind.

Charlotte followed after Damon and found him talking to Elena.

"There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone." He was saying.

"Trust breeds trust, you have to give it to get it." Elena said.

She was such a hypocrite. Charlotte could see Damon's jaw clench. He must have been thinking the same thing.

"Are you lecturing me?"

"Do you need to be lectured?" She countered.

"I just want her back. I'm sure you can understand that." Damon stated.

"Yes, I know you would do anything to get to her." Elena answered.

He nodded her head and then gave her a pointed look.

"Then you understand what I will do if anyone get's in my way."

Charlotte saw her sister's eyes shoot to the ground. And even though she was on Damon's side, there were just some things that she wouldn't tolerate. When he went to walk past her she grabbed his arm and pulled it so he would come closer.

"Don't ever let me hear you threaten my sister again."

Jeremy and Damon were in the living room playing video games and Charlotte was sitting on the arm of the couch. Elena was in the kitchen helping Jenna clean up.

"You said you never played this thing before." Jeremy stated.

"I'm a fast learner, quick reflexes."

"Yeah that's it." Charlotte scoffed knowing the real reason.

Jeremy's phone started to ring and he picked it up, checking the Caller I.D. before tossing it back down.

"Who are you dodging?" Damon asked him.

"This girl Anna. She can be, uh, persistent." Jeremy admitted.

"Is she hot?"

Charlotte brought her hand up and wacked Damon on the back of the head. He turned and gave her an incredulous look.

"I don't want to know about my baby brother's love life!"

Damon rolled his eyes at her and turned his attention back to Jeremy, motioning for him to continue.

"Yea, but she can be weird."

"Hot trumps weird, trust me." Damon told him.

"And when have you experienced teenage dating dumbass!" She asked, smacking him on the back of the head again.

"Smack me one more time! I dare you!" He threatened, but Charlotte knew he was only joking around.

She smacked him on the arm this time and started owwing when Damon started pinching her all over. She fell off the arm of the chair when she tried to move away and Damon looked down at her, his eyebrows raised and a smirk on his lips.

"Learn your lesson?"

Charlotte huffed and picked herself up off the ground before going to sit by Jeremy. She could hear Elena and Aunt Jenna talking in the kitchen and she strained her ears trying to hear.

"So does Charlie like Damon?" Jenna asked quietly.

She could see Damon shooting her a teasing look from the corner of her eye. And she turned to him fully giving him a glare.

"No! They're just friends….really close friends…" Elena muttered at the end. She didn't want her younger sister anywhere around Damon.

"Just friends? Pfft. Yea right have you seen him? He's ridiculously hot." Jenna stated.

"Shh…he's an ass."

Charlotte let out a laugh and Damon threw her a look to show her that he didn't think it was funny but she just sent him a wink before she muttered under her breath knowing that he could hear her.

"You got that right." She however yelped when she felt Damon pinch her again from around Jeremy. "Damon! Stop doing that!"

The doorbell rang and Damon leaped up grabbing Charlotte's arm and pulling her to the door. Elena was close behind them.

"Dude!" She could hear Jeremy call out annoyed.

Out on the porch, Stefan was telling them that the journal had been taken while Alaric and he were talking.

"Who took it?" Damon asked; it was clear that he was upset and frustrated. He was pacing back and forth.

"I don't know." Stefan answered.

"You know what, it's that teacher. There's something really off about him."

"No he doesn't know anything, someone got to it right before him." Stefan reasoned.

"Who else knew it was there?"

The sisters watched as Stefan's stare glided to the window where Jeremy was sitting on the couch. Damon seemed to had noticed too because he started for the door.

"No! Damon, leave him out of this!" Elena warned.

But he just ignored her and walked back through the door.

"DAMON!" Charlotte called following after him.

"So, I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day. Who else did you show it to?" Damon questioned.

Charlotte grabbed his arm before he turned and she gave him a look telling him to go easy on Jeremy.

"Huh?" Jeremy was clearly confused as to why everyone was asking questions about the journal.

"Don't ask questions, just spill." Smack to the back of the head, courtesy of Charlotte.

"Okay Jer, here's the thing...did you tell anyone else besides Mr. Saltzman about Jonathan Gilbert's journal?" Charlotte asked.

"Why is everyone so obsessed with that thing?" He asked.

"Who else did you tell?" Elena answered with another question.

"Fine, I just told Anna." He said.

"The hot, weird one?" Damon asked.

Elena raised an eyebrow at Charlotte, but her sister just shook her head telling her it wasn't important.

"Yeah."

"Wait, who is Anna?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, Jer, how do you know her?" Charlotte asked.

"Yea that's what I want to know." Damon repeated.

"I just do. She wants me to meet her at The Grill tonight."

"Perfect, I'll drive. Pretty Girl, you come with me." Damon grabbed her arm and Jeremy's and pulled them both outside.

"Tell me about Bonnie's date if you see her!" Elena shouted after her sister.

When they walked into The Grill, Charlotte saw no sign of Bonnie.

'_Well, her date must've gone well.'_

Damon pulled her over to the bar where they sat and kept an eye on Jeremy, waiting to see this mysterious Anna girl. She watched as pretty girl went up and smiled at her brother.

"So that's her?" Charlotte inquired. When Damon didn't answer she looked over at him to see his jaw clenched. "Damon?"

"I knew her." He said through gritted teeth.

"Wait...what?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She was thoroughly confused.

"I knew her. _Before _I was a vampire. Back in 1864." He growled out.

"Oh dear…"

Damon stood up from the bar stool and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the exit.

"Let's go."

They got in his car and drove before he pulled up outside a motel.

"Stay in the car!" He demanded. Charlotte only nodded her head.

It was a while before anything happened. She was resting back in her seat when she saw Anna walk into the room she saw Damon go into. It was only a few minutes later when she saw him walk back out and he got into the car, starting it.

"Sooo?" She questioned.

"I know where it is." He told her.

They pulled up outside the woods. And Damon and Charlotte stepped out of the car before he grabbed her hand and started pulling her through the trees.

"Damon! Slow down! Tell me again why we're in the woods?"

"Let me tell you something about my father, Charlie. He wanted his secrets to be taken to the grave with him, and this grimoire—"

"Oh my god." She understood now. "He ittook it to the grave? Like _literally_?"

Damon nodded his head and pulled her further along until he stopped, Charlotte colliding with his back. She looked around him and up ahead she could see the glow of a fire. He pulled her closer and she saw Stefan and Elena. Charlotte shook her head, she knew it, she knew this would happen, and she squeezed Damon's hand as a comfort.

"Well what do you know?" Damon's voice startled them and they both turned toward him before he sneered. "This is an interesting turn of events..."

Stefan shook his head.

"I can't let you bring her back. I'm sorry."

"So am I. For thinking, for even a _second,_ that I could trust you; either of you." He growled, looking at Stefan and then Elena.

"You are not capable of trust. The fact that you're here just proves that you read the journal and was planning on doing it yourself." Stefan pointed out.

"Of course I was going to do it by myself, because the only one I can count on is me! You made sure of that many years ago, Stefan." He said.

"Well I'm so glad that I'm just a piece of chopped liver for you Damon." Charlotte muttered under her breath. "I mean, it's not like I just betrayed my own sister for you or anything."

"So what are you gonna do now?" Damon asked Stefan, ignoring her.

Charlotte knew he was hurt and she could tell that all he wanted to do now was hurt Stefan back.

"Because if you destroy that-" He pointed to the grimoire, "-I will rip her heart out." He said and looked at her sister.

A look of fear came to Charlotte's features.

"Damon, don't!" She whispered.

"You won't kill her." Stefan said.

Damon shook his head and before anyone could do anything, he had Elena by the neck.

"I can do one better." He spat and bit his wrist, forcing Elena to drink his blood and then held her by her neck, ready to snap it. "Give me the book, Stefan, or I'll snap her neck and then you and I will have a vampire girlfriend!"

"Damon! No! Don't!" Charlotte pleaded with him.

She was so invested in trying to talk Damon down from the edge that she didn't see Stefan turn to her. He looked back at his brother and then he ran towards her.

She felt Stefan grasp her neck, the same way Damon had Elena. The only difference was that Stefan didn't give her his blood and if he snapped her neck, she wouldn't come back. But she knew that Stefan wouldn't hurt her, or at least she hoped he wouldn't. Elena would never forgive him if he did.

Charlotte started to struggle; she was panicking, trying to get loose. She looked at Damon and he could see the fear in her eyes. His own held rage as he saw Stefan squeeze his hand around her neck. She couldn't breath. Elena looked at Stefan with shock etched across her face.

"Let her go first, and then I will give you the book, and I will let go of Charlie." Stefan said.

The two across from him could see Charlotte's eye turn gold, but the brightness slowly flaked away. She was too tired; she didn't have enough energy to fight back.

"Stefan, _please_." The youngest Gilbert sister pleaded with what breath she had.

"I'm not really going to hurt you." Stefan's voice whispered in her ear. "I just need him to think I am."

She felt his grip loosen and she took in a deep breath of air.

"Charlotte and the grimoire." Damon demanded.

"I'm not going to give you either of them, until Elena is standing next to me."

"Problem is, I no longer trust that you'll give them back!" Damon spat.

"You just did the one thing that ensures I will." Stefan said, dropping the book.

Slowly, Damon released Elena and Stefan dropped Charlotte to the ground before grabbing Elena and zooming off. Damon rushed to Charlotte and helped her up before bending back down to grab the book.

"I don't think I like your brother anymore." She muttered, looking up at him. "I'm not some bargaining chip!"

"Are you okay?" Damon whispered, cupping her cheeks. Charlotte nodded. But then her eyes held sorrow and disbelief.

"Were you really going to kill my sister in front of me?"

Damon looked down in shame. Before he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started to lead her back to the car.

"Let's get out of here."

When he started to head in the direction of her house, she turned and placed a hand on his arm.

"Let's go to yours." She told him, and when he shot her a questioning look, she continued. "Even though you don't want to admit it, I bet you don't want to be alone."

He nodded his head before she spoke again.

"I'm sorry Damon, about Stefan."

"It's not your fault; I learned a long time ago that I couldn't depend on my brother."

It was a few minutes later when they pulled up at the boarding house and when they walked through the door, Charlotte pulled her shoes off and tossed them aside, following Damon into his bedroom and looking around.

"Not what you expected?"

"I've learned to expect the unexpected with you." She said winking at him.

She walked over to a dresser and went through the drawers before she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a shirt, stripped from her clothes, and pulled it over her head. She picked up her clothes, folding them as she went to place them on a chair. When she went to get in the bed, she looked at him with a teasing smile.

"Although I waaasss expecting some silk sheets."

She crawled in and patted for Damon to get in next to her. When he got in she pulled the old raggedy grimoire from him and started flipping through it.

"Let's find out how to get your girl back." She said tossing him a smile.

And for the rest of the night, they examined and picked apart every piece of information and spell that was in the grimoire, trying to find a way into the tomb. They were completely unaware that Elena was taken by Anna as they slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Outfit link in profile!**

In this chapter….Bad Stefan and Elena! Damon realizes that Charlotte is the only one he can trust and Stefan has some apologizing to do! And Tatia makes an appearance in Charlotte's dreams.

In this story, Klaus wasn't in love with Tatia, only Elijah was; but Tatia wanted both brothers. I think it shows that Klaus only ever loved Charlotte by the title of the story.

I'm like getting uberly excited for Klaus to arrive. And what do you guys think about her bonding with Katherine when she shows up?

Sooo what do you think? Leave a review :)


	14. Chapter 13: Fool Me Once

Chapter 13: Fool Me Once

It was early the next morning when Damon awoke to Charlotte whimpering in her sleep.

_Charlotte was making her way through the dark forest. The only light was that of the moon peeking through the trees. She stopped when she heard the snapping of small branches behind her._

'_He was supposed to wait!'_

_She finally reached the clearing and stepped to the center where she and Niklaus always stood to look up at the moon. Charlotte turned her head and looked to the edge of the forest, hearing the footsteps coming closer in the still of the night. _

_They stopped. She could see the dark outline of a figure hidden behind a tree._

"_Niklaus, sweetheart, come here!"_

_When she didn't get a response, she called out again._

"_If this is your idea to scare me, it is not working."_

_The person stepped from the shadows, only it wasn't her lover like she expected it to be._

"_Tatia, what are you doing here!" She growled out. "Did you follow me?"_

_But the woman didn't answer her. She only walked closer._

"_Tatia! Answer me!"_

_Tatia kept walking slowly until she was standing right in front of Charlotte, who could see the hate burning in the woman's brown almond eyes. Tatia lifted her hand to rest on Charlotte's shoulder, before bringing her mouth to the chestnut haired girl's ear._

"_I want him!"_

_The air escaped Charlotte's lungs as she leaned forward, gripping to Tatia's skirts, tears pooling in her eyes. Tatia wretched the dagger from the girl's chest and pushed her to the ground, and watched as the life was slowly leaving her hazel eyes, blood flowing freely from her wound._

"_And I can't get him with you in the way! If you're here, it will always be you!"_

_And with Charlotte's last dying breath, she whispered into the night, eyes locked with Tatia's,_

"_It will **always** be me!"_

_And as one final tear slid down her paling cheeks, Charlotte's eyes slipped shut._

Damon could hear Charlotte's heart beating rapidly, her cheeks wet with the tears she was crying in her sleep. Just as he was about to reach over to wake her, she shot up, panting for air until she finally broke down. She remembered the woman's face so clearly.

It was her sister, she had killed her; she had driven a dagger straight through her chest.

Charlotte leapt up from the bed and rushed to the bathroom, tearing the shirt she was wearing over her head and looked straight in the mirror. She stared at her abdomen, just under her left breast.

The scar. It was right where she was stabbed in her dream. How it was possible? She didn't know. And that was what frightened her. Nobody could ever figure out where she had gotten the scar from.

She saw Damon in the mirror, a worried look on his face. She turned to face him, her eyes welling up with fresh tears and her bottom lip trembling. Damon didn't know what to do, so all he did was reach and pull his friend into his chest, stroking her hair and whispering soothing words.

"Shh, it's okay. Tell me what happened."

"She….she killed me!" Charlotte stuttered out.

Damon looked confused.

"Elena! She just came up to me and stabbed me!"

"Shh…Charlie, it was only a dream, it wasn't real. Elena would _never_ hurt you!"

Charlotte just nodded her head. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

Damon pulled Charlotte back into his bedroom and sat her on the bed before walking over and grabbing a pile of clothes from a chair.

He brought them over to her and placed them down. Charlotte looked up at him confused.

"What is this?"

"I though you might need a change of clothes. So I went to your house and got them for you." He told her as she looked through the outfit he had selected. It was just a simple shirt and pants. And her underwear.

"Damon! You went through my underwear drawer!"

"Well I didn't think you'd want to walk around all day in dirty panties!" He stated mockingly.

Charlotte thought about it for a second and nodded her head. He was right. She stood up and was about to change until she turned and looked at him.

"What?" he questioned.

"Get out! I need to get dressed."

"I've seen you get changed before pretty girl, it's not anything I haven't seen already." He told her.

"Yea, but you've never seen me naked, and I _don't_ want you to see me naked, so get out!"

When she saw that Damon wasn't going anywhere, she let out a huff and grabbed the clothes, stomping to the bathroom and slamming the door behind her.

"Stupid Damon!" she muttered under her breath.

"I heard that." Damon sing-songed walking from his bedroom and going down the stairs to the living room.

Once Charlotte was dressed, she went and joined Damon in the living room and they started to go through the grimoire again. They were chatting quietly when Stefan walked in.

"Ugghhh…." Charlotte moaned. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I second that." Damon said raising his hand, still looking at the grimoire.

"Anna took Elena." Stefan stated, the worry clear in his voice.

Charlotte shot up from where she was sitting and looked at Stefan in shock and fear.

"What do you mean Anna took Elena?"

"Yeah, I got that from your 600 voicemails."

Charlotte's head snapped to Damon, a murderous glare in her eyes.

"You knew? And you didn't think to say anything to me! Damon! I trusted you!" She screamed at him before turning back to Stefan, "Did you look anywhere? Did you find anything?"

Stefan shook his head at her and looked at Damon before speaking.

"Damon, all night long, every single street in town, I've been searching. What if your blood hasn't passed out of her?"

"Well at least you know you'll see her again." Damon said shrugging.

"Damon this is my sister!"

"Damon, please. What do you know? You were with Anna; you must know where she's living. Just tell me where I can find her."

Charlotte was wracking her brain trying to remember what motel they were at last night.

"Nope. You can go. Really."

"You know, all I can remember is hating you. There might have been a time when that was different, but your choices have erased anything good about you." Stefan started to tell his brother, "But see, I also know you have just as much reason to hate me. This all began with me. Katherine got taken away from you because of me. And I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"So please, just tell me what you know. It's Elena, Damon. If you know something, tell me!" Stefan pleaded.

And what Damon said next, Charlotte had never seen her hand move so fast.

"I mean this sincerely…I hope Elena dies."

She slapped him, the sound resonating around the room, and Damon looked up seeing the hate in her eyes, and she just shook her head, disgust written clear across her face.

"And I mean this sincerely Damon. I pray to God that you _**never**_ get Katherine back!"

She turned on her heel grabbing Stefan by the arm and leading him out the door.

"It was a motel, I wasn't paying attention…I don't remember which one…." She mumbled out. "But I think I know someone who can help us."

And that was how they ended up in front of Bonnie's grandmother's house. Charlotte bolted from Stefan's car and up the steps, pounding on the front door. She left out a sigh of relief when it swung open.

"Honey I think I heard you the first time," Grams started, but when she saw Charlotte's expression, she knew something was wrong. "What is it, Charlie? What happened?"

"A vampire took Elena, and she might have Bonnie! We can't find them!"

Grams placed an arm around Charlotte's shoulders and guided her into the house before she turned to Stefan and invited him in. She sat down at a table and did a locating spell.

While Grams was finding out where Bonnie and Elena were, Charlotte was by the bookcase, skimming her fingers over the titles and right across the book that Bonnie was shown weeks before.

When Grams found the location of the taken girls, the teenage duo left the house and now was outside the motel.

"Stay in the car!" Stefan demanded.

Charlotte opened the car door and stepped out before turning to Stefan.

"I am really sick and tired of people telling me what to do." She started, "And you _really _don't want to piss me off. You're already on my shit list for last night!"

Stefan gave her an exasperated look and she followed him to the door, stepping back so he could break it down. She heard a male's screams and then heard her sister.

"Stefan!" Elena gasped.

"Get outside." Stefan commanded them, and then she saw Bonnie and Elena.

She met them halfway and they all wrapped their arms around each other in a tight hug.

"When Stefan came to the house and said you were taken, I was sooo worried!" Charlotte exclaimed once they pulled apart and she started checking them over, keeping her eyes open for any bump or bruise.

"I'm fine, we're fine." Elena told her before looking at Bonnie. "Right Bon?"

"Yea," Bonnie said nodding her head.

"Let's go." They heard Stefan say and they piled back into his car and back to Grams' house, where they found themselves sitting around.

"How did you know where we were?" Bonnie asked Grams.

"Many things can fuel a witches power. Worry. Anger. After Charlie and Stefan told me they had taken you I had a lot of both." Grams said to them, "Simple locater spell was easy after that."

"I'm sorry. About all of this." Bonnie said softly.

"Not as sorry as they're gonna be." Grams answered her, smirking.

"So what do we do now?" Elena asked looking around the room.

"For now you stay here." Stefan said giving her his 'I'm serious' look.

"A prisoner? In my own home?" Grams asked amused. "I don't think so."

"I can't protect you if you leave the house." Stefan admitted.

"We'll protect ourselves."

"We need to let Damon have Katherine back." Elena said softly.

"What?" Charlotte exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? No! He doesn't deserve to have Katherine back after what he did today!"

"We need to Charlie!" Elena told her sternly. "We need to let him have Katherine back. He's not going to stop until he gets her. If we help him, maybe that ends it."

"Well good luck getting him to trust you. You already went behind his back once."

"He doesn't deserve to get what he wants." Bonnie disagreed.

"What other choice do we have?" Elena asked knowing there wasn't another.

"Witches being pulled down by vampire problems. As much as we try to do to stay out of it." Grams said looking down, "I'll open the tomb. You get your brother's girl and destroy the rest with fire. Then this will be all over."

"We still have to get Damon to agree." Charlotte told no one in particular.

"He already agreed once." Elena pointed out.

"Yeah but then we double crossed him." Stefan said back, "So now he's angry."

"No. You two crossed him." Charlotte interrupted, pointing at Elena and Stefan, before pointing to herself. "I, did not. But I've learned that Damon only cares about himself. He didn't care what happened to Elena, so it's not my problem anymore."

Stefan could see that Charlotte was pissed, she trusted Damon, she helped him, and she went behind her sister's back in the process to do so. And when she needed him, he turned the other cheek.

"He's hurt, there's a difference." Elena said glancing around the room.

"Ohh and now you suddenly care about Damon's feelings?" Charlotte asked quirking an eyebrow. "Because you didn't seem to care too much yesterday,"

She looked at the floor sighing before she lifted her head and looked at the pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Elena has to do it. Even though he won't admit it, Damon feels something for her. When she broke his trust it hurt him, more than Stefan's deceit. She has to get him to trust her. To believe that she'll help him,"

Elena nodded her head.

"I think I know what I have to do. Come on Charlie."

The sisters said their goodbyes and made their way to the Salvatore boarding house. When they walked in, they saw Damon pulling on his jacket about to leave but he stopped when he saw them enter the room.

"I'm gonna have to change the locks." He said.

"You never even lock the doors, so changing the locks won't make much of a difference, moron." Charlotte mumbled out, she was still pissed at him. Elena elbowed her in the ribs before turning back to Damon.

"You stage a jailbreak?"

"Stefan." Elena told him, but this time, it was Charlotte who dug an elbow into _her_ ribs. "And Charlie."

"Ah, brother. Ever the white knight."

"You can be Prince Charming sometimes too Damon! But it seems like you like being a dick more! Now the reason we're here is because we convinced Bonnie to help you!" Charlotte snarled.

"I doubt that. Besides you said you didn't want me to get Katherine back,"

"Enough!" Elena shouted, they could argue later, but right now, they needed to get down to business. "I'm not gonna say that I'm sorry we got the grimoire without you last night, because I'm not really."

"Well, at least you're being honest now!"

Elena shot her sister a look to shut up, before she continued.

"I was protecting the people I love, Damon. But so were you. In your own twisted way. And as hard as it is to figure, we're all on the same side, after the same thing."

Damon looked bored.

"Not interested."

"Yes you are, because you were so willing to work with us yesterday."

Charlotte scoffed.

"Yeah and look how that ended."

"Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Elena muttered to her sister, a stern look in her eyes.

Charlotte only nodded before letting out a sigh. Elena turned back to Damon and lifted a brow at him.

"Fool me once, shame on you."

"Damon I know that my betrayal hurt you. Different from how it is with you and Stefan, but I'm promising you this now, I will help you get Katherine back!" Elena told him earnestly.

Charlotte walked over and sat on the couch. This was taking way too long.

"I wish I could believe you." Damon muttered.

She watched as Elena took off her necklace and placed it on the table. Now Charlotte knew for sure that her sister was being completely truthful; and Damon would know too.

"Ask me if I'm lying now." She stated.

"You know Anna won't stop, by the way, no matter what I do."

"Then we'll deal with it," Charlotte called out.

She saw Damon pick Elena's necklace up and place it back around her neck.

"I would never compel you Elena, I always want it to be real with you." He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "I'm trusting you. Don't make me regret it."

And Charlotte didn't need to question it anymore. She **knew** that Damon felt something for her sister. She rose from the couch throwing her hands up in the air.

"Finally!" She huffed out, "Can we please get out of here now?"

She went to walk past Damon when he grabbed her arm and tilted her chin up.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm…I'm….Charlie I'm…" he started stumbling, but Charlotte cut him off.

"Yea, yea, I get it. You're sorry, now can we please go?" She asked walking away.

"You're a good friend Charlotte." He called after her when she was walking out the door with Elena.

She turned her head and sent him a teasing smile before laughing.

"I'm your _only _friend Snow!"

It was dark out by the time they reached Old Fell's Church. Drunken high school kids were partying nearby.

"Oh god, the Duke Party. I completely forgot about this. I hope they steer clear of the church." Charlotte mumbled, almost tripping over a branch but Damon caught her by the arm.

"Why do you care about everyone so much?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow, it's like she had to play mommy with everyone.

"I don't know, I just do." She told him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I just feel a connection with them, with human life."

Damon looked at her like she was crazy.

"I know that's hard for you to understand, seeing as the only time you're connected with human life is when your mouth is attached to their jugulars!"

They trio weaved in and out of the trees, Charlotte and Damon bickering back and forth along the way.

"Oh crap!" Charlotte muttered when she saw Caroline and Matt making their way over to them.

"Elena, Charlie, hey!" Matt called out to them.

"Charlie! Elena! Oh my God, where have you guys been?" Caroline asked, grabbing Matt's hand. She wanted to show Elena that Matt was with her now.

"Long story, no time to tell it." Damon told her.

"I wasn't talking to you!"

"Sure you were." Damon mockingly told her.

"We haven't met. I'm Matt." Matt introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Matt. There's a reason you and I haven't met." He told the football player, before giving Charlotte and Elena a soft push in the opposite direction. "We're going that way."

"I'm sorry guys." Elena told their friends while Charlotte only sent them an apologetic look over her shoulder.

When they were further away, she turned to Damon.

"Do you always have to be such a dick?"

He just smirked and shrugged his shoulders before Charlotte asked him another question.

"Nervous?"

He just looked at her, and she could see his answer in his eyes. She nodded her head.

They soon arrived at the tomb and saw Stefan, Bonnie and Grams.

"Brother. Witches." He greeted them.

Stefan turned to look at the girls.

"Everything okay?"

"Yea," Elena answered. "I just want to get this over with."

"Are we ready?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes," Bonnie told her.

They walked down into the tomb and Grams started to light the torches.

"Air. Earth. Fire."

"Water." Bonnie said holding up a water bottle.

Grams smiled slightly at Bonnie and took the bottle of water, pouring in on the ground.

Charlotte snorted, causing everyone to look at her.

"What?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"That's water... from the tap."

"As opposed to what?" Grams asked her.

"I just thought that, maybe the water was supposed to be mystical or biblical or something, you know?" Charlotte stated like it was the obvious answer.

"You'd know a lot about mystical and biblical wouldn't you sweetheart," Grams said under her breath, but Charlotte heard her and she furrowed her brows. She had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Grams spoke again.

"But no, sorry dear."

Damon then reached into his pocket and pulled out a blood bag.

"What's that?" Stefan questioned.

"It's for Katherine, gotta have something to get her going." Damon told him then turned to Elena and Charlotte smirking, "Unless Elena or Charlie is offering up a vein."

"You are not funny." Charlotte stated blankly, seeing her sister's eyes widen.

"Admit it," Damon whispered to Stefan, "You can't wait to get rid of me."

"I can't wait to get rid of you." Stefan responded looking over to his older brother.

Charlotte shook her head at them and smiled cheekily at Damon.

"I'll miss you Damon."

"We're ready." Bonnie said turning to look at the brothers and sisters.

'_This is it,'_ Charlotte thought.

Bonnie and Grams started to chant the spell. The flames from the torches flaring and glowing brighter; when finally, the tomb door opened.

"It worked!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Of course it worked." Grams told her.

Damon turned to Stefan and told him to go build his fires, and he left to go grab the gasoline. Damon turned to Charlotte and Elena.

"You girls ready?"

"What?" Elena asked confused.

Elena grabbed her sister's hand and then was startled when Damon grabbed both of their arms.

"Damon!" Charlotte whispered, "Don't."

"I'm gonna go in there by myself so you can seal me in?" He snarled to Bonnie's grandmother.

"Don't take them in. I'll bring the walls down." Grams told him.

"You'll bring the walls down even if I don't. Think I trust you?" He growled.

"As much as I trust you."

"Alright! Enough! Both of you." Charlotte muttered.

"Look he needs leverage. He needs to know that you're not going to shut the door when he gets inside." Elena told the two witches before her sister finished for her.

"We get it. We'll go."

Damon walked over to a torch and lifted it in his hand.

"May I?"

He grabbed the sisters' wrists with one of his hands and pulled them into the tomb.

Charlotte's pulse was racing and she could bet that Elena's was too. When they walked further into the tomb she could see the desiccated bodies of the starved vampires. She felt bad, she couldn't imagine what it would feel like to starve and feel your body shut down.

But her sorrow suddenly turned to fear when she heard the whispering and she could feel Elena's grip tighten on her hand.

"What is that?" Elena asked with a shaky voice.

"They can sense you. Now where is she?" Damon told them and he released his grip on the girls and stalked off, leaving them there in the middle of the tomb where there were hungry vampires. In the dark. With only a flickering flashlight. Where they couldn't see anything.

"Damon!" Elena called after him.

"Stupid asshole!" Charlotte muttered when they didn't hear a response.

She grabbed her sister's hand and tried to lead them to find Damon.

"Damon? Damon? You know, after this I don't think I want to be your friend anymore."

The sisters' hearts were pounding in their chests. The more they yelled for Damon, the louder the whispers from the vampires got. Suddenly she felt a hard tug on her arm. Elena had fallen and Charlotte bent to help her back up. They looked around for the flashlight and saw it had landed on a mummified vampire.

When they picked it back up, they spun around, panicking. They were surrounded by vampires at every turn. Elena grabbed Charlotte's arm again and went to run until she tripped and landed right next to one of the vampires. Charlotte went to help her when both the girls noticed it's eyes snap open.

Charlotte quickly pulled her sister up and when they turned around, they came face to face with Anna.

"You must have a taste for it. You scream and shriek and even bother to escape. And then you just come right back to it." She said stepping closer.

With each step Anna took forward, the sisters took two back. However, they couldn't step any further when they bumped into a body.

"Mother! Mother!" Anna spoke and knelt down next to the vampire on the ground, she looked up at Elena with hate in her eyes. "Your boyfriend did this you know?"

"His father did." Charlotte corrected.

"And Jonathan Gilbert." She told them, "I made a choice a long time ago that it would be Gilbert blood that brought her back to life. I had Jeremy all ready to go... But-"

Charlotte pulled Elena's arm tightly and turned around and ran, but felt her heart stop when Elena was ripped from her hands. She saw Anna bite into her sister's wrist and throw her to the ground next to Anna's mother; bringing Elena's wrist up to her mouth and forcing the blood to go down her throat.

Charlotte screamed for her to stop and felt her body shake with anger. She was about to move forward when she heard Stefan's strong voice from behind her.

"Let her go!"

He pushed Anna out of the way and grabbed Elena from the ground.

"Go! Go! I'm right behind you!"

Elena ran toward the tomb opening but Charlotte's feet wouldn't move.

"I'm not leaving him Stefan."

She then took off in the other direction, hoping to find Damon.

"She's not here." She heard his voice, he sounded distressed. "She's not here."

"Damon…" she called out, following the sound of his voice. She started to run to him and saw Stefan was right there with her again.

"Damon…"

"She's not here." He mumbled.

"What?" Stefan asked shocked.

Damon threw the blood bag at the wall.

"She's not here!"

"Damon we need to get out of here!"

"It doesn't make any sense. They locked her inside." He muttered, trying to figure it out.

"Damon_ please_." Charlotte whispered, walking closer to rest a hand on his arm. He was tense.

"If we don't leave now. We're not getting out." Stefan told him.

"How could she not be in here?"

Charlotte's heart was breaking for him. Katherine was out there all along and didn't even try to find him.

"It's not worth spending all of eternity down here Damon." She whispered soothingly, "She's not worth it."

"NO!"

They all turned at the approaching footsteps.

"Damon! Please." Elena pleaded with him.

He finally nodded his head and they made their way out of the tomb just in time before the door shut.

Elena and Stefan rushed outside to Jeremy but Charlotte stayed with Damon.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay. Alright?" she told him grabbing him in a hug. But he didn't hug her back; it was like he had just shut down. "We'll find out what's going on."

Charlotte pulled him out to the open air and walked over to Jeremy to see if he was okay. She looked over her shoulder to see Elena hugging Damon and whispering something in his ear.

Now the girls were at home, Elena handed Jeremy a glass of water and aspirin.

"How's your head?" Charlotte asked him, running her fingers through his hair.

"Ah, it's alright. I just wish I knew how I passed out. I didn't drink that much, I swear." He told his sisters.

They nodded, knowing it was true.

"We believe you." Elena said.

"You don't remember anything, though?" Charlotte questioned.

"The whole things pretty cloudy. I just…I know how this looks. I'm sorry."

"No Jeremy, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything. Okay?" Elena said. He nodded, smiling up at them.

"Look we have to go over Bonnie's for a bit, but is there anything you need?" Charlotte asked. He thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"Nah, I'm just gonna crash."

"Okay but, Jenna's here if you need anything. Okay? We'll be back soon." Charlotte reminded him before her and Elena left to go to Bonnie's.

Charlotte and Elena were sitting at the table at Bonnie's Grams house; Elena had just gotten off the phone with Stefan. She called to check on Damon. Bonnie was heading to Grams' room to see if she needed anything and Charlotte decided to bring up her dream from last night.

"Elena, it was you. _You_ stabbed me right where I have that little mystery scar." Charlotte sighed out, she placed her head in her hands; she was starting to get a headache.

Elena went to calm her sister but she was cut off by Bonnie's sudden pleas.

"Guys! Elena! Charlie!" Bonnie called and they bolted up running to her.

When they reached Grams' room, they saw her on the bed, unmoving. Charlotte covered her mouth to silence her gasp and her eyes filled to the brim with tears as she walked over to Bonnie who was sobbing over her grandmother's body.

"Oh my God. She's not breathing! She's not breathing! Please, wake up!"

Charlotte pulled Bonnie from her grandmother and into her arms; even though she knew that there was nothing she could do to make things better.

Elena rushed out of the room, grabbing her phone and dialing 911.

Bonnie rose from the bed and over to the grimoire, fumbling desperately through the pages.

"Bonnie! Bonnie!"

"No! No! I can fix it! Grams, I can fix it!" Bonnie cried frantically.

Elena walked back into the room and her and Charlotte pulled Bonnie from the spell book and into their arms, trying to comfort her.

And over Bonnie's sobs, all Charlotte could think about was how this was all her and Elena's fault. They persuaded Bonnie into helping Damon get Katherine back. And it was all for nothing; Katherine was never even in the tomb to begin with. Because of them, Bonnie lost her grandmother.

Charlotte pressed a soft kiss to the crown of Bonnie's head and looked at her sister. She could easily see in Elena's eyes that she was thinking the same exact thing as she was.

And they knew from here on out, that things could only get worse.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfit link in profile.**

So in this chapter….We figure out how Charlotte died in her last life and who did it, Damon and Charlie have a little row, they get into the tomb and they find out that Katherine was never in there to begin with, and the sisters realize the consequences of their actions when Grams dies :(

I'm gonna jump around the dreams, so even though Charlotte died in this one, it will still show what led up to her death and after. And I might show Klaus now but with him remembering Charlotte, but I'm nervous that I might make him, like, too much out of character.

Any thoughts on her bonding with Katherine? And if you have any ideas on what time periods you'd like to see her in (before Klaus time period because she wasn't born again after him till now), I'm still thinking up some ideas. But just let me know!

**Seven more episodes until I start season 2 :)**

**Leave your thoughts :)**


	15. Chapter 14: A Few Good Men

Chapter 14: A Few Good Men

"Hey Bonnie, it's me. Just checking in, seeing how you're doing. Lena and I miss you here. Don't let your aunt drive you too crazy." Charlotte told Bonnie's voicemail, looking out into the distance. She and Elena were sitting out on the porch; Elena was next to her writing in her journal. "Come home soon... love you."

She hung up and let the phone fall into her lap.

"What are you doing out here?" Aunt Jenna asked the sisters, "It's cold."

Charlotte rested her head back against the swing and shrugged.

"Thinking…writing." Elena finally said, "Bonnie's grandma's funeral brought up a lot about mom and dad."

Charlotte nodded her head in agreement, the sad memories starting to overwhelm her.

"You said you would do some digging about them, the adoption?" Elena said breaking the silence that had developed.

"Right."

"So did you? Dig?"

"Come on inside." Jenna said motioning with her head towards the door.

Elena got up from the porch swing, but Charlotte just stayed put.

"You too, Charlie."

"Your dad kept everything for his medical practice; records, logs, old appointment books." Jenna said picking up a notebook, "I found an entry, from the day you were born. A patient and a birth date. Isobel Peterson."

"Is that even her real name..?" Charlotte pondered.

"Pregnant teenage runaway?" Jenna asked, "Probably not. First name maybe, but where'd she get Peterson? Classmate? Best friend?

"So I binged it, Petersons in the area and born the same year as Isobel." Jenna said typing on her computer to pull up the results to show us, "Found three, two men and one woman. Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."

"That's not far from here." Elena turned to her sister grinning.

Charlotte was excited for her sister, she was, but she was disappointed that she would never know anything about herself.

"Alright well watch this." Jenna said and then she typed in 'Grove Hill High School' then she hit search and she pulled up the school website.

She then pulled up a picture from the year 'Isobel' would have gone to school there. And there was two cheerleaders looking into the camera with slight grins.

"Isobel...She was a cheerleader." Elena said smiling brightly.

"Trudie still lives there." Jenna told her grabbing a sticky note and writing down some information on it, "This is her address."

"What about Isobel?" Elena asked curiously.

"I couldn't find anything about her." Jenna said her tone turning slightly sad, "Listen there's something else. Mr. Saltzman, Rick, his wife was from around here, her name _was_also Isobel."

"Wait. Mr. Saltzman's Elena's daddy?" Charlotte asked shocked, but that wasn't what Elena was focused on.

"Was?" Elena asked in a whisper, "As in…?"

Elena couldn't seem to finish her sentence.

"She died."

Elena walked from the kitchen and Charlotte went to walk after her, but was stopped when Jenna grabbed her arm, she had a look of sorrow on her face.

"Charlie….I'm sorry that there's nothing I can give you or tell you."

Charlotte just shook her head and gave a soft smile.

"It doesn't matter; I'm more worried about Elena right now. I'll see you later."

And she turned to walk upstairs to Elena's room, telling her sister that she would be back in a bit.

Charlotte drove to the boarding house, her mind on Damon. She hadn't seen or spoken to him since they found out that Katherine wasn't in the tomb. When she pulled up, before she even walked into the house, she could hear loud music blaring, but as she walked in, the music only got louder.

Charlotte walked further into the boarding house, following the music and what she now heard was the sound of giggling girls. She kept walking until she found Damon feeding off one of them. He detached himself from her throat once he noticed his hazel eyed friend.

"Ahh, pretty girl,"

He spun the girl he was just feeding from and turned her to face Charlotte, motioning to her.

"Girls, meet Charlie. Charlie, meet girls."

"Damon…?" she started but let out a gasp when he was suddenly in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, blood, fresh and dry, staining his mouth.

"I was worried, you haven't been answering any of my calls, and the last time I saw you…you weren't exactly…" Charlotte trailed off, she didn't know what to say; she didn't want to bring up the tomb.

"Pssshh, you've got nothing to worry about! I'm fine!" he boasted, grabbing her hands and shimmying her to the music. "I mean, its not like I spent the last 145 years trying to get into that tomb and when I finally do, what do you know, she was never there to begin with. She's been out all along and she didn't try to find me!"

"Damo—" Charlotte started but she was cut off when he started talking again.

"So yes Charlie, I'm fine, I'm better than fine. Now that I don't have to put all my time into looking anymore, now I can do whatever I want!"

He went to twirl her around but she tore herself from his grasp.

"That's what concerns me! You've gone over the ledge! I mean seriously look around you; these girls, not only that but you're _wasted_! Katherine's not worth all of this!"

"Oh relax! Have some fun, you're so uptight!"

He pulled her into his chest and nuzzled his face into the base of her throat.

"You smell _sooo_ good!"

Charlotte's eyes widened. With the state of mind Damon was under right now, she thought he was going to bite her. But she was saved by Stefan.

"Damon!"

"No. Buzzkill Bob. Greetings."

Stefan turned to Charlotte, checking her over to make sure Damon didn't do anything to her.

"Do you need me to take you home?" He asked her, but she shook her head.

"No I have my car," She turned to Damon. "Call me later, yeah? Once you've sobered up and then we can talk."

She left the boarding house and got in her car, driving home. When she pulled in to the driveway, Elena came out of the front door. She slammed the car door shut and walked to her sister and once she saw the look on her face, she knew her next words.

"Wanna go for a drive?"

Elena nodded her head, giving Charlotte a smile. Driving helped them think.

"Well, let's go!"

And sometime later, the sisters found themselves sitting in the car outside of the address that Aunt Jenna had given them.

Charlotte turned to look at her sister, and seeing an unsure look on her face, reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"You sure you want to do this?" she asked.

Elena only nodded her head and they both made their way to knock on the door.

"I'm right here with you, I'm not going anywhere."

They waited for a few seconds until a woman answered the door.

"Trudie? Trudie Peterson?" Elena asked.

"Yes?"

"We wanted to talk to you about Isobel Fleming." Charlotte answered, seeing Elena freeze up.

"I haven't heard that name in years." Trudie said looking at Elena and Charlotte, "How do you know her?"

"We think that . . . hmm how do I put this?" Elena asked out loud.

"Did Isobel have a daughter nearly seventeen years ago that she put up for adoption?" Charlotte asked Trudie, forming the words her sister couldn't.

Elena sent Charlotte a thankful smile and then looked back to the blue eyed woman. Her eyes widened with shock.

"You're her daughter." Trudie said looking at Elena, letting out a breathless chuckle, "I was just going to make some tea, would you two like some?"

"Sure." Elena said, grabbing Charlotte's hand with her own.

"The kitchen's this way." Trudie said motioning to behind her and the sisters slowly stepped into the woman's house.

"We weren't going to come. But we were driving and then we hit this stop light and it made me think about me learning how to drive. And my mom would always warn me about this blind turn on the left hand side. . . And I was thinking about my mom. . ." Elena babbled.

"We had your address, sorry if we barged in." Charlotte apologized since all Elena could do was keep talking out of nervousness.

"No problem." Trudie said shrugging it off as she motioned for them to sit down. "Just a surprise though. I haven't thought about Isobel in years."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"About seventeen years ago, when she went to go have you." She said smiling, "We kept in touch for a while though, you know, people drift apart."

"And you don't know where she ended up?" Elena asked.

Charlotte was just looking around the room.

"She was in Florida for a while." Trudie told them, but mostly she was speaking to Elena, "She was on her own. It wasn't easy."

"Do you know who her father was?" Charlotte questioned, finally returning to the conversation.

"I could never get her to fess up." She admitted, "Anyway, she finally pulled it together. She got into college on a scholar ship."

"Where did she go?" Charlotte asked again. If Elena wasn't going to ask these questions, then she was going to ask them for her to get answers.

"Some where in North Carolina. Duke, I think." Trudie said, "Smart girl smart school."

Just then the high pitched squeaking of the tea pot was heard.

"Let me just grab that." Trudie said excusing herself as she got up.

Charlotte made sure she was gone before she turned to Elena, an exasperated look on her face.

"That lady; is a dingbat!" She whispered leaning over so Elena could hear.

When Trudie returned from the kitchen, she pulled out a yearbook to show Elena.

"They came to the games for us." Trudie told them as they looked at a picture of her and Isobel in their cheer uniforms, "The football team hadn't won in years. We were the stars. Well, Izzie was. But I was a damn good back up."

Elena giggled at what Trudie had said.

"This is great thank you."

"You're welcome." Trudie answered.

"You haven't touched your tea." Trudie said glancing at the girls' full tea cups that were starting to get cold. Charlotte looked at her puzzled. Did it really matter if she didn't drink her tea?

"Oh, yea," Elena said raising her glass and taking a sip.

"What about you." Trudie asked her eyes becoming hard as she eyed Charlotte.

"Well I'm not really thirsty." Charlotte told sending her a smile, but the woman's stare remained firm.

Elena elbowed her in the ribs and she huffed before bringing the cup to her lips. But it stopped short when she caught the scent.

'_Where have I smelled that before?'_ she questioned herself.

"What type of tea is this?" Charlotte asked still smelling it.

'_Vervain!'_

"Just some herbal mixture." Trudie replied quickly. The teenage girl could see that she was getting fidgety.

"Is it vervain?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

Trudie didn't answer, but only scooted back in her seat.

"You know." Charlotte breathed out, remembering when they first arrived.

"Know what?" Trudie asked playing stupid.

"What do you mean, Charlie?" Elena asked but Charlotte didn't answer her, she just kept her gaze locked on Trudie.

"Trudie, you didn't invite me in. Or my sister, and now you're serving vervain tea? You know." She said again and glanced at Elena to see that she was finally realized what was going on.

"I think you two should leave." Trudie said standing up.

"What are you hiding?" Elena asked her.

"Please leave." Trudie said, "Now!"

Elena grabbed her bag off of the back of the chair and Charlotte grabbed her arm and pulled her out of Trudie's house.

"She wasn't telling us something, Elena. She knows more than she's letting on."

Elena only nodded her head and went to open the passenger door until she saw something off in the distance. Charlotte noticed the far off look in her eyes and followed her line of vision.

There was a man standing at the end of the street. Just staring at them.

"Elena, get in the car, let's go!" Charlotte told her sister, opening her door and getting inside.

Once Elena was in and her seatbelt was on, they made their journey to the Salvatore boarding house.

Charlotte was sitting in the living room waiting for Elena. She got up and let out an aggravated huff.

'_What is taking her so long?'_

She stomped her way up the stairs and to Stefan's room.

"Elena?" She called out before she entered the room.

"Better. Me." Damon said from behind her.

"You look um. . ." She trailed off, thinking of the right word.

"Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?"

"Nooo…You still look just about as wasted as the last time I was here."

"No reason why. Did you know that I am one of Mystic Fall's most eligible bachelors?" Damon asked her, lifting his brows.

"Really?"

"Uh, huh. Are you going to buy a ticket?" He questioned as he walked over to the mirror.

"So how are you doing? With the whole Katherine thing?"

"Never better." Damon said putting a button up shirt on. "So what can I do for you? I'm a barrel full of favors today. My newfound purpose-how can I help you?"

"You can help me by telling me what's on your mind!" Charlotte told him, walking over to him and pushing his hands away so she could button up his shirt, which he couldn't seem to do himself. "But I'm looking for Elena; we're supposed to be going to the fundraiser with Stefan."

"You know, you could've asked me to take you. We are friends!"

"But you're an eligible bachelor Mr. Salvatore! What would everyone think if you showed up with little ol' me?" She teased.

Damon let out a chuckle and she finished buttoning his shirt before she smoothed it out and went over to grab a tie. When she came back over with a couple of them, she tried each one out.

"Guess what." Charlotte told him, trying to start a conversation as she tried out the first tie.

"What?"

"We found out who Elena's birth mother is today." She said cheerily. She was happy for her sister.

"Who cares." Damon answered making a disgusted noise.

"Damon!" She scolded slapping his chest as she removed the tie and put the next one around his neck.

"She left her." He told her, "She sucks."

She looked up at him and she could see something shining in his blue eyes before she gave a smile, her dimples showing.

"You do care…Ehh, I thought you might."

She took a step back looking at his attire before she moved forward again and unknotted the tie.

"No tie! You look better without it."

When she was pulling the tie from his neck, he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips before cupping it with both of his. Charlotte looked up at him and sent him a questioning look.

"Thanks. For being here, I may not show it but…it means a lot."

Charlotte smiled so wide her cheeks started to hurt.

"Damon Salvatore saying _thank you_. That's a new one." She mocked before she turned serious, "You have my back I have yours? Right?"

"_Always_."

"Then I'll always be there when you need me."

Before they could say more, they were interrupted by approaching footsteps. Charlotte turned to the door to see Stefan and her sister.

"I was looking for you Lena!" She told her sister, walking over to her.

"Uh, I need a bigger jacket." She heard from behind, and turned letting out a laugh as she saw Damon trying to squeeze into a blazer that was a few inches too small for him. "You know the occasional, sorority girl might um, help fill you out a little bit."

Damon then walked past the trio smirking and out of Stefan's room.

"He's fine." Elena said arrogantly.

"He's Damon." Stefan shrugged.

"Maybe this heartache will be good for him. It will remind him that he has one even if it doesn't beat." Elena ranted.

"Do you guys have to be so mean about it!"

Stefan went to respond to Charlotte's question but was interrupted by Elena.

"Stefan, Charlie and I went to see Trudie Peterson today. I'm sorry we didn't plan it."

"How was it?"

"Well, for one she has vervain. And she knows about vampires." Charlotte told him.

"Yeah, it can't be a coincidence." Elena cut in.

"It isn't. . ." Stefan said pulling out a picture of Isobel, the one who was Elena's birth mother, "This is Alaric's wife."

"This is her?" Elena asked skeptically, "This is Isobel."

"He gave this to you?" Charlotte questioned Stefan, who only gave her a small nod.

"Everything he knows about vampires he learned from her. He believes it- she was killed by one."

"Oh my god." Elena whispered shocked.

"There is a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you, but I need you guys to hold off for a little while." Stefan told them.

"She's not my mother." Charlotte shrugged.

Elena shot a glare in her younger sister's direction.

"What, why?" Elena asked.

"I know it's a lot to ask of you, but will you do that for me?" Stefan asked Elena softly.

Elena nodded.

The sisters were now sitting at a table with Aunt Jenna at The Grill, watching and listening to Carol Lockwood announcing all of the bachelors.

Charlotte was bored out of her mind.

"And what do you do bachelor number 3?" Carol Lockwood asked.

"Yeah, I'm a plumber."

"Well isn't that wonderful? We could always use more plumbers. . . moving on." Carol said very rudely.

"What a bitch!" Charlotte scoffed, only to receive a slap to the back of her head from her aunt. "Hey!"

"She could have been you're mother-in-law." Aunt Jenna teased.

"Yea, no!"

Next Carol walked to stand by Alaric.

"Number 4, Alaric Saltzman. Wow that's quite a mouth full." She commented, "What do you do Alaric?"

"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High." Alaric said calmly, glancing around the room.

"Oh, beauty _and_ brains, ladies. This one's a keeper." Carol said winking at the audience, "What do you teach?"

"History."

"History, oh well give us a fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy." She said smiling brightly.

Alaric didn't speak, he only looked over to Damon who was holding his hand up by his ear, acting like he couldn't hear Alaric.

"Uh, well uh. . ." Alaric mumbled unsure of what to say.

"He's probably saving the best stories for his date." She said turning back to the crowd and walking to where Damon stood, "And last but not least, we have Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."

As soon as she said Damon's name, Charlotte perked up.

'_This is gonna be good.'_

"Well I'm tough to fit on a card." Damon said, smirking.

"Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?" Carol asked.

Charlotte saw as Damon's grin widened.

"Oh yeah, LA, New York, and a couple of years ago I was in North Caroline. Near the Duke campus, actually." he said turning to look at Alaric, "I think Alaric went to school there? Didn't you Ric? Yeah except I know your wife did."

"I had a drink with her once. She was- she was a great girl. Did I ever tell you that? Cause she was delicious." Damon finished as he smirked at Alaric.

Charlotte gasped and looked to Elena to see her sister nearly in tears.

"Are you okay?" Jenna asked Elena.

"I just need some air." Elena said and bolted up from the table and practically ran out of the door; Charlotte quickly following after her.

"Elena." Stefan said from behind them.

Elena turned and scowled at him.

"He killed her? Damon was the vampire that killed her?"

"Elena, Alaric said that they never found the body-" Stefan began, but he was cut off by his girlfriend.

"Oh, my god. Stefan."

"Elena, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. But I just wanted to know more."

"I was feeling sorry for him, hoping that this whole Katherine thing would change him. And I trusted him around Charlotte!" Elena growled stepping closer, shrugging off Charlotte's hand that was rested on her arm. "I'm so stupid."

"He doesn't know about the connection you share with her." Stefan told her. "I thought about confronting him, but he's sort of on edge-"

"Why are you protecting him!" Elena yelled outraged.

Charlotte stepped between her sister and Stefan, trying to ease the tension that was slowly but surely brewing.

"Elena! You weren't the only one hoping he would change! Stefan's his _brother_. I'm his friend! You don't think that we were hoping for the same thing!" Charlotte spoke sternly. "And he didn't even know this was your mother Elena. This was how many years ago? He didn't even know you then!"

"So now you're protecting him?" Elena spat at her angrily. "I'm your _sister_! What is he to you? Huh? **Nothing**!"

"Shut up Elena!" Charlotte growled. "I'll always choose you first! But you can't sit here and be pissed about something you can't change! At least you know what happened to your birth mother and at least you know who she is and who she was! I don't know _anything _about mine, and I _never_ will know!"

Charlotte looked at her sister, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. Elena knew that even though Charlotte put up a front, that she was still hurting.

Charlotte quickly blinked away her tears and grabbed Stefan's arm.

"Stefan, that man," She whispered, pointing to the man her and Elena had seen when they were leaving Trudie's. Elena turned to see where she was looking and finished her sister's sentence.

"We saw that man at Trudie's, Stefan."

"Get back inside." Stefan said pushing them softly back to the door, "Come on."

Elena and Charlotte walked back in side by side when they bumped into someone.

"Whoa! Easy there, buy a ticket like everyone else." Damon said smirking at them.

"Not here Lena," Charlotte whispered to her sister, but of course, she never listened.

"Did you enjoy that? Rubbing that into Alaric Saltzman?" Elena growled.

"What?" Damon asked looking to Charlotte for help, but she just shook her head.

"Just when I was beginning to think there was something redeemable about you." Elena said staring him down.

"Elena." Stefan whispered pulling her against his chest and kissing her head softly as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Am I missing something here?" Damon asked, directing his question at Charlotte.

"Did I forget to mention earlier when we were talking, about Elena's birth mother? The one who gave Elena up?" Charlotte told him, trying to refresh his memory.

"Mmhmm." Damon mumbled still looking confused.

"Her name was _Isobel._" Elena said letting venomously. "Go ahead. Reminisce about how you killed her."

Elena turned and walked away, Stefan turning to follow her.

"Charlie. . .I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

"Damon. . . it's not me you need to apologize to. Save it for another day. She's too upset right now." She told him softly and he nodded his head. "I know you care about her, but maybe you should let it go."

And she turned and walked away from him to find her sister, missing the heartbroken look that marred his features.

She walked outside to see Elena and Stefan speaking with _that_ man and she walked closer to hear what was being said.

"You need to stop looking. Do you understand?" The man asked vacantly.

"She's alive?" Elena asked breathlessly.

"Do you understand?"

"Does that mean she's a-" Charlotte questioned. That was the only other option.

"Elena. Charlie." Stefan said pulling them back, "He's under compulsion."

"Do you understand?" The man asked once more.

"Yes we do."

"Good." He said glancing at the street and then back to Elena, "I'm done now."

He then slightly took a step back into traffic, a speeding truck colliding with his body. Charlotte felt empty as she watched the scene as if it was in slow motion. She only snapped back to reality when she felt Elena pull her back with her into Stefan's chest.

The trio ran into the street towards the man.

Stefan crouched down beside him and Elena bent down, picking something up.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." Stefan said grabbing the sisters by their arms and pulling them away from the man in the street.

It was later that night when they returned home. Charlotte was in her room preparing for bed when she heard Elena call for her.

"Charlie! Could you come in here!"

"What's up?" She asked walking into her sister's room and taking a seat on her bed.

"Just thinking I guess..." Elena responded, looking over at a picture of them and their parents.

"I miss them, too." Charlotte whispered out into the silence.

Charlotte looked down to see the phone Elena had taken from the man earlier.

"You should call her." She told Elena.

"What?"

"You know Isobel? This guy was obviously speaking with her at some point; he has to have her number in there somewhere. Right?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea Charlie." Elena warned.

"Come on Lena, stop being a baby."

Charlotte stared at her sister with an 'I dare you' look on her face and knew that Elena would eventually break.

"Fine." Elena stated, sitting up and Indian style before grabbing the phone off of the nightstand.

"Do you think this is it?" Elena asked when she went through the phone and found a number that was called multiple times.

"Worth a shot." Charlotte said shrugging.

Elena nodded and then pressed call.

"Put it on speaker."

She nodded and did as told. They waited for an answer as the phone kept ringing.

"Was there a problem?" A female voice asked on the other end.

Both the girls felt their eyes widen.

"Did you find her? What's going on?" The voice asked again.

Charlotte looked at Elena and saw she wasn't going to say anything, she was too shocked. So she spoke for her.

"Isobel?"

And then the line went dead.

"What a bitch!" Charlotte muttered shaking her head.

Elena gave her a hard look.

"What? She hung up on you! Besides you don't need her. We had a mommy and if you need another one I'll take the job!" Charlotte started blabbering and she smiled when she heard Elena chuckle. "I'll be your mommy!"

Charlotte laid back on the bed and pulled Elena with her so that her sister's head was resting on her chest. She ran her fingers through her sister's hair and started talking again.

"Now tell mommy what's wron-"

She shrieked. Elena had pinched her.

"Elena! What was that for?"

"Thanks. For being here. I know it can't be easy, not knowing anything for your self. But I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're my sister." Elena told her, and Charlotte tried to laugh off her tears.

"I'm glad you're my sister too." She said in all seriousness before teasing, "Maybe it was our destinies to find each other."

Elena laughed and looked up at her sister.

"Maybe."

And they laid together the rest of the night, laughing about old times and memories, looking out the window at the twinkling stars.

They were sisters, and their bond was unbreakable. Nothing could ever tear them apart. Or at least that's what they hoped.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfit link on profile!**

In this chapter we have some Damon/Charlotte moments, we find out more about Elena's birth mother and we have some sisterly bonding after a fight. And maybe a little foreshadow?

We might see a little sliver of Klaus in the next chapter and some more dreams **:)**

Leave your thoughts, constructive criticism, or anything in a review!


	16. Chapter 15: Let the Right One In

**A/N**: I skipped over the episode _There Goes the Neighborhood_.

* * *

Chapter 15: Let the Right One In

When Elena got home from her double date with Stefan, Matt and Caroline, she went to Charlotte's room to tell her all about it. The sisters were now asleep in Charlotte's bed, thunder clapping through out the night sky. They were suddenly startled awake when a strong wind blew open the window.

Charlotte only looked up to see what it was and when Elena saw her sister drop her head down on her pillow, she huffed, getting up from the bed to close the window herself.

It was later in the morning when the sisters found themselves at the Salvatore boarding house, watching as Damon boarded up a large window. Apparently, a man and woman from the tomb attacked the brothers last night.

"I say we go to Pearl's, bust down the door, and annihilate the idiot that attacked us last night." Damon suggested after pounding nails into wood that covered the now broken window.

"Yea. And then what? We turn to the rest of that house of vampires and say, 'Oops sorry.'" Stefan asked his brother sarcastically.

"I can't believe you made a deal with her, when she has been trapped in that tomb for over a hundred and forty-five years. You really think she's gonna do anything for you when you two are the reason she was there to begin with!" Charlotte chastised.

"Well, it was more like a helpful exchange of information." Damon explained, "It's not like I have a choice she's...scary. And besides she's going to help get Katherine back, she says she knows her patterns of travel and such."

"Of course she is. Damon gets what he wants, as usual. No matter who he hurts in the process." Elena huffed out.

"You don't have to be snarky about it."

"We woke up this morning to learn that all of the vampires have been released from the tomb." Elena snapped back with her eyes narrowed, "I've earned snarky."

"How long are you going to blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?" Damon asked her rolling his eyes.

"I'm not blaming you, Damon. I've accepted the fact that you're a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities."

Charlotte guffawed with a shake of her head. This two just didn't know when to quit.

"Ouch." Damon muttered.

"This isn't being very productive." Stefan interrupted the bickering, stepping forward, "We need to figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires. Yeah?"

Damon left the room and Charlotte followed after him.

"How could you agree with Pearl, Damon? Why would you want _her_ back when she obviously could care less about you! She's been out there all along and never once, has she tried to find you!" Charlotte questioned him, she was getting angry; Katherine didn't deserve him and here he was still hung up on the woman. "She gave you her blood, she knew you were gonna come back when she watched you die!"

Damon whipped around to face her, a crazy look in his eyes.

"Yea, well at least she's _real_. At least _she's _out there. I didn't just conjure her up in my mind."

Charlotte's face fell. She had told Damon about her dreams in confidence that he wouldn't judge her, she told him more about them than she ever told her sister, or Bonnie, Jenna, even Caroline; and here he was, throwing it back in her face.

She took a deep breath and shook her head, looking up at him and giving a disappointed look.

"Yea, he may not be real. But if he was, I'm sure he'd be out there looking for me; wanting to find me! Unlike that stupid bitch you're obsessed with that only seems to care about herself!"

And she turned on her heel, making a hasty getaway back to Elena before Damon could say anything else. She walked back to the living room and heard Stefan and Elena talking.

"Yes, that's exactly what you're going to do because that's what's going to keep you and Charlie safe." Stefan told Elena.

"Which doesn't count if you're not safe too," Elena stressed with a pleading look in her eye.

"What do you mean Elena," Charlotte growled, making her presence known, "He's perfectly safe! He has Damon; the self-serving psychopath on his side!"

Stefan laughed; Damon must have pissed her off.

"See, listen to your sister. I'll be perfectly fine." He told Elena sarcastically.

"Well that's comforting." Elena grumbled, before sending Charlotte a questioning look after seeing her expression. "You ready to go?"

Charlotte nodded her head and while Elena was giving Stefan one last hug, she walked out into the rain to wait in the car.

When the sisters got home, Charlotte made her way up to her bedroom. She slipped off her rain boots and out of her jacket, tossing it over onto the chair that was situated in the corner of the room.

She walked over to stand in front of her mirror, catching sight of a drawing that Tyler had made for her. It was of her. Charlotte let out a sigh; things were so simple back then.

She tore the picture from the mirror and walked to her bed, tossing it in the drawer of her nightstand and laid her head back on a pillow. Her eyes focused on the storm outside, the pitter patter of the rain pelting against her window slowly lulling her to sleep.

Somewhere far away was a man making soft strokes on a canvas. He had just finished painting the girl's eyes; his stare never leaving them until he allowed his eyes to drift over to a half-done drawing from across the room. And then, he let his mind wander to when it was created.

_Niklaus was sitting in the wild flowers, his eyes glancing at the girl before him and back to the parchment where he his hand was making light charcoal strokes. He lifted his head back up to look at her and saw she had completely changed her position._

_He let out a sigh and spoke to her in a gentle voice._

"_Love, if you keep moving I'll never be able to finish."_

_Charlotte huffed and laid back into the flowers, closing her eyes at the blazing sun._

"_But I'm bored just sitting here!" She exclaimed, slowly rising onto her knees and sending a pout in his direction, her hazel eyes twinkling._

"_Honestly love, you're starting to sound like Bekah," he muttered, giving her a teasing smile._

_Charlotte glared mockingly at him before getting up and quickly throwing herself at him, knocking him onto his back. Niklaus gripped her waist as she slowly pushed one of his golden curls away from his face._

_The sun was making her glow; her face, her hair. Niklaus thought that she looked like an angel; his own personal angel that was sent from the Heavens just to find him. She was his, and he was hers._

_His strong hands, calloused from manual work, slowly moved up her back and over her shoulders to gently cup her cheeks that were reddened with the heat of summer. Charlotte's eyelids fluttered closed and he pulled her head down so that their lips could meet in a passionate kiss._

_When the young lovers finally pulled away for air, Charlotte's eyes opened, holding a dazed look in their hazel depths._

"_Are you going to let me finish now?" Niklaus whispered breathlessly against her lips. She smiled._

"_Why do you need a drawing when you have the real thing?" She asked curiously, her brows furrowing._

"_For when you're not around; then I'll always have something to look at." He told her._

"_I'll always be around! You can't get rid of me that easily sweetheart! I'm not going anywhere."_

_And before he could say another word, she pressed a soft kiss to his parted lips and lifted herself from his chest, running off through the flowers._

"_Come and get me," she tempted him over her shoulder._

_And Niklaus pulled himself from the ground, leaving the half drawn portrait in his wake as he chased after the laughing girl._

The man pulled from his thoughts as he was now standing in front of the portrait he had began over a thousand years ago. He lifted his hand, running his fingers gently over Charlotte's features, the sun's rays shining through the opened window and bouncing off of the golden band that adorned his finger.

He looked at the ring and then back at the drawing.

"I made you a promise…" he whispered.

He promised that he would avenge her death and once he found the doppelganger, he would not only break his curse, but he would end the Petrova line once and for all.

The ringing of Charlotte's phone pulled her from her dreams. She got up from the bed and walked over to her coat, pulling it from the pocket and checking the Caller I.D.

"Damon….ignore." She muttered, hitting ignore, she wasn't in the mood for him.

She grabbed her coat, throwing it over her arm before walking over to her rain boots and slipping them back on.

Her phone rang again. And again. And again.

She checked her voicemail as she walked down the stairs to hear someone knocking at the door. Before Charlotte could even open it all the way, Damon pushed his way into the house.

"Ugh, what do you want!"

"You're ignoring me." Damon stated blankly.

"The six missed calls? Yea, I know. I just didn't want to hear your obnoxious voice. Sorry." She told him sarcastically.

"Is Stefan here?" Damon asked her.

"No. Not that I know of." She replied before turning to Elena who was coming down the stairs. "Stefan up there?"

"No. Why? Something wrong?" Elena asked concerned

"He went out to the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone so I figured he'd be here with you."

Elena pulled out her phone and dialed Stefan's number, trying to reach him.

"It's going straight to voicemail."

"Where could he be?" Charlotte questioned to no one in particular.

"You're not going to like what I'm thinking." Damon told them.

The girls were now sitting in Damon's car in the middle of the woods, waiting for him to return.

Charlotte reached over to grab her sister's hand and gave it a small squeeze.

"He'll be okay Lena."

Elena nodded and looked out the window to see Damon coming. They hastily made their way out of the car to him to see what happened.

"What happened?" "Where is he?" Charlotte and Elena asked at the same time.

"They have him. I can't get in." Damon told the girls sighing.

"Well why not?" Elena questioned.

"Because the woman who owns the house is compelled to not let me in!" Damon said, trying to get the point across to Elena.

"I can get in." Elena told him and made way to go past him but Damon grabbed her before she could get far.

"You're not going in there."

"I'm going!"

"You're not going in there Elena!" This time it was Charlotte who spoke.

"Why are they doing this? What do they want with him?" Elena asked.

"Revenge. They want revenge."

"We've got to do something." Charlotte said determined.

"I know." Damon nodded.

"We can't let them hurt him. We gotta get him out of there." Elena pleaded.

"I know. Elena, I know. But I don't know how to get him out."

Charlotte reached forward to pull her sister back and wrapped her in her arms. And then a thought came to her head.

"But I do." She muttered, pulling away from Elena. "I know who can help us."

The trio found themselves at Mystic Falls High School.

"Well, don't you look... alive?" Damon announced.

"You can't hurt me." Alaric stood up

"Oh, I can hurt you, all right."

"Mr. Saltzman, we need your help." Elena told him as they walked into his classroom. "Stefan's in the house and Damon's a vampire so he can't get in. We need you. I would go but…"

"Your life is valuable." Damon distinguished, before looking at Alaric. "Yours, on the other hand is..."

"Stefan told us about your ring." Charlotte informed her history teacher.

"What about it?"

"Let me recap... You tried to kill me. I defended myself. You died. Then according to my brother, your ring brought you back to life. Am I leaving anything out?" Damon asked sarcastically only to receive a slap by Charlotte and a stern look.

"We're trying to get his help!" She snarled under her breath.

"Yeah. The part where I try and kill you again. Only this time, I don't miss." Alaric told Damon, standing tall and squaring his shoulders.

Charlotte saw what was going to happen and stepped between the two men.

"Okay now, is not the time to play 'who's the bigger man'." She stated. "You wanna play gladiators; then you play it later. But right now, we have much bigger problems than both of your egos."

She gave a 'do you understand' look to both of them.

When Damon just stepped closer, Charlotte put her hands on his chest to stop him.

"Back. Off." She growled.

"Mr. Saltzman, please. It's Stefan." Elena pleaded, breaking everyone from the tension.

"I'm sorry, Elena. But it's not my problem." He told the teenage girl.

"That's a shame. Because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife." Damon shrugged casually.

"You're lying." Alaric accused.

"Am I? Why don't you ask her yourself?" And when Alaric didn't respond, Damon scoffed, putting his hands on the sisters' backs and leading them from the room. "Coward. C'mon girls."

"Alright!" Alaric stopped them. "Wait. I'll go."

The trio turned to walk back into Alaric's classroom when Damon grabbed Charlotte's arm.

"What's wrong?" He asked her concerned.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? You're seriously asking me that question?" Charlotte asked sarcastically. "I don't know Damon. Why don't I let you think about what's wrong with me."

She went to walk away from him but he pulled her arm again.

"Charlie if it's about earlier—"

"Yes Damon! It's about earlier. Obviously you haven't had very many friends seeing as you don't know how to treat them! So until you do; _don't_ talk to me!" Charlotte seethed cutting him off before turning to walk into the classroom.

"Charrrrlieeeee….." Damon whined following after her. "You can't stay mad at me forever!"

She whipped around to face him.

"Trust me! I can! I'm not some pushover!"

"Guys!" Elena shouted, giving them a stern look. "Now is not the time!"

They were standing at table where Alaric had just laid out all of his vampire weapons.

Charlotte whistled, well at least it was her attempt at one.

"Teacher by day, Vampire hunter by night..." She and Damon stated at the same time.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and Damon smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him.

"See…" he told her. "This is why we're best friends. We think alike."

Charlotte just pushed away from him.

"I've you to thank for that." Alaric said looking at Damon.

"What are these?" Elena asked looking at some type of syringe.

"Those are tranquillizer darts filled with vervain."

Charlotte snatched one up and was about to shove it into Damon but he grabbed her hand before she could even come close. He gave her a look and the hazel eyed girl just shrugged her shoulders and raised her brows as if to say 'what?'.

"Just get me in. I'll get Stefan out." Damon told Alaric taking the vervain dart out of Charlotte's hand and tossing it back on the table.

"That's your plan? You're just going to take them all on yourself?" Charlotte and Elena asked in disbelief.

Even though Charlotte was mad at him, she didn't want him to get hurt.

"Well, I'll be a little stealthier than that." He smirked. "Hopefully."

"Whoa. What are you doing?" Alaric asked as Elena picked up a vervain dart.

"I'm going with you guys." She stated like it was nothing.

"Me too," Charlotte mumbled, she wasn't going to let her sister go alone.

"No. No. No. No. No way." Damon told them both.

"You need me. I'll get in. You could distract them, and then I'll get Stefan out." Elena explained. "Charlie will be with me. She can help and if someone tries to hurt us, she can do that thing or whatever it is she does."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't even know what it is that I do. I don't even know how to do it. It just happens!"

"You'll get yourselves killed. You're not going in there." He growled.

"We're going."

"Do I not get a say?" Charlotte mumbled.

"So, when you get me in, get out as quickly as you can. I know how to sneak around where they can't hear me. You'll basically be in the way." Damon explained to Alaric, completely ignoring the sisters.

"Damon, now is not the time to be the lone ranger." Elena commented.

"Fine. You can drive the get away car." Damon rolled his eyes when Charlotte laughed. "You're not going in that house."

"You can't stop me. It's Stefan we're talking about here. You don't understand." Elena shook her head

"Oh, I understand. I understand. He's the reason you live. His love lifts you up where you belong. I get it." He rolled his eyes.

"Can you just not joke around for 2 seconds?" Charlotte asked. "This is serious."

"I can't protect you guys." He told them. "I don't know how many vampires there are in there. That's how long it takes you to get you head ripped off. I have to be able to get in and get out. I can't be distracted with your safety. Or this is will end up a bloodbath that none of us walk away from...Including Stefan. I know. I get it. I understand."

"If we're going to go, let's go." Alaric suddenly announced breaking up their disagreement.

The girls were sitting in the car. Damon and Alaric had left to go inside.

"Charlie…" Elena started, pulling a vervain dart from her bag. "I need to go in there. To get Stefan."

Charlotte nodded and grabbed her sister's hand, but they both gasped as a tree branch came crashing down on the windshield of the car.

"Let's go. I've got your back."

The sisters made their way through the woods and to the house where all the vampires were. They climbed up on the back porch, Charlotte glancing around the corner to see if the coast was clear but flattened her self to the wall when she heard someone call out.

"Billy, Jacob, get back in here!"

Elena pointed to the staircase, and the girls bolted down them, and found themselves in the cellar. The only thing stopping them from entering was a locked door. Elena busted out a windowpane and stuck her hand through the hole, unlocking the door and opening it, pushing her sister to move forward.

Charlotte peeked around the corner and saw a vampire standing guard at the end of the hall by a door.

'_That's where Stefan must be.'_

She reached back and took the vervain dart from her sister and made a move forward to stab the vampire with it, but stopped when Damon came out of no where, taking care of him.

Her eyes widened when Damon noticed her and she stepped back. She had never seen him so angry. He started stalking toward them and all Charlotte could think to do was play dumb.

"Hi!" She cheered with a shaky smile.

"Are you insane?" Damon hissed at them, before turning his focus to Charlotte. "I could smell you from upstairs!"

"Well then, those vampires must have stuffy noses because they didn't seem to smell a thing!"

Damon just shook his head letting out a growl and pulled both of their arms down the hall and kicked open the door. The girls burst in.

"Elena." Stefan whispered hoarsely. "You shouldn't be here."

"They were supposed to stay in the car." Damon said walking in behind them.

He stepped over to table and grabbed a wooden stake. He then noticed Harper sitting in the chair tied up with two stakes in his legs. Damon then raised his hand about to stake him.

Charlotte went and stood in front of Harper.

"Don't! It's pretty obvious he's not on _their_ side."

"He...Helped me." Stefan whispered to Damon.

"Whatever." He said rolling his eyes and turned around, going over to Stefan. "Let's get you down."

"There's vervain...On the ropes." Stefan gasped out when Damon was about to pull down the ropes.

"Elena, pull that."

Elena nodded and started to tug on the ropes that were holding Stefan up. They slowly came undone, and Stefan was about to fall until Damon caught him.

Charlotte turned to Harper and gave him a soft smile before she grasped one of the stakes that was in his legs.

"I don't know if this is gonna hurt?" She whispered to him softly before she wrenched it from his leg.

The vampire hissed out in pain.

"Alright let's go." Damon said, "Clothes on."

He then began walking towards the door before turning back to Charlotte who was pulling the stake from Harper.

"Charlie let's go!"

"Wait." She mumbled, pulling out another stake.

"Go," Harper whispered to her and she nodded before allowing Damon to pull her from the cellar.

"Can you guys get him to the car?" Damon asked them.

"Yeah." Elena answered.

They got to the staircase leading to the top of the house but Charlotte stopped. She couldn't leave Damon.

"Go." Charlotte told her sister. "Take Stefan, and get to the car."

"Charlie, no!" Elena hissed. "You're coming with us!"

"He's my friend Elena, I can't just leave him!" She turned around and ran to find Damon but stopped back in the room to get stakes. She needed to be prepared.

She walked up the stairs as quietly as she could, and pressed her back to the wall when she heard a voice.

"Turn that down. It's too quiet."

Charlotte heard a thud.

"Spread out. You two, back of the house. Go. Check out both of the rooms. Cellar, now."

Charlotte's heart was pounding as she lifted a stake, readying herself. As the vampire turned the corner she slammed the stake into its chest, watching as he fell down the stairs and slowly desicated.

She walked through the doorway and followed the bangs and grunts. She saw a vampire go for Damon and she quickly shoved a stake into its back, watching as it fell to the floor. She lifted her head back up and locked eyes with an angry Damon.

"What the hell are you _still_ doing here?" Damon growled.

"Well apparently I'm saving you. But yea, no problem Damon! You're very welcome!" Charlotte mocked.

"That's not what I meant and you know it! Now be careful, please."

"I'll do my best." She muttered.

"You'll do more than your best, or I'll kill you myself." Damon threatened. "We need to find Frederick, stay behind me!"

Charlotte went to turn around but jumped when she saw Alaric.

"Jeeze! Give me a heart attack why don't you!"

Alaric completely ignored her and looked at Damon.

"What is she doing here?"

"Word of the wise. Charlotte **_never_** listens to **_anything_** you **_ever_** tell her to do!" Damon said turning to glance at the girl he was speaking about. "Stay with her, I'm going to find Frederick."

Damon walked away and Charlotte turned back to glance at Alaric to tell him not to listen to Damon, but her eyes widened.

"Alaric! Behind you!"

But the vampire wasn't going for Alaric; he pushed the history teacher out of the way and went straight for her. Charlotte didn't have anything to protect herself with so she just shook with terror, not knowing what to do.

Right when the vampire was about to reach her, she tensed, her eyes shining gold and the vampire fell to his knees, giving Alaric the chance to stab him with a vervain dart.

He stood to check on Charlotte, who was taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself, when Damon walked into the room.

"Frederick's gon—" he started, but stopped once he noticed the vampire on the floor and glowing gold that was starting to fade from Charlotte's eyes. "What happened?"

"Nothing, let's get out of here," she muttered, grabbing Alaric's arm and pulling him to the door.

"I'm gonna kill him." Damon started.

When they were exiting the house, they saw more vampires approaching.

"How many of those vervain darts do you have left?" Damon questioned Alaric, pulling Charlotte closer to him so that he could protect her.

"One."

"Not gonna be enough." Damon told Alaric, turning to Charlotte. "If there's any time for you to do your freaky little eye power thing, there's really no time like the present, pretty girl."

"I don't know how to Damon! It just happens." She told him, she was rigid. They were never going to make it out of there.

"Okay, back inside." He told her, pulling her back into the house.

"So, what you said to get me to do this, about my wife." Alaric started, glancing at Damon, "It was a lie, wasn't it?"

"Yep."

"You're such a dick Damon." Charlotte muttered with a shake of her head.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Stop! What's going on here?" A female voice asked through the door.

When the door opened in came Pearl with who she saw was Anna.

They both walked inside glancing at the bodies that were lying haphazardly around the house.

"What did you do?" Pearl asked.

"Me?" Damon asked in disbelief, "Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother."

"Trust me. The parties responsible for this will be dealt with." Pearl tried to reason with him.

"Our little arrangement doesn't work unless you learn how to control them."

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

"Well it did. If I had a good side...Not a good way to get on it."

Damon turned to Charlotte and grabbed her hand, pulling her from the house.

Charlotte was now in the boarding house, she was sitting with Elena who was telling her about what happened with Stefan. She looked over when she noticed a presence in the room and stood up, patting Stefan's arm when she walked past him to give him and Elena a minute alone.

She walked down the stairs and into the living room, seeing Damon sitting on the couch, and went to turn to just wait outside.

"Charlie…" Damon called out.

She sighed and turned around.

"What is it now Damon?"

"I…"

"You what? You're sorry? I bet you can't even say it, can you! What you did today Damon, it hurt. And right now, I don't really want to talk to you." She went to walk away but turned back, she still had something to say. "Damon, you're my friend. And I care about you. But Katherine doesn't deserve someone like you. You're kind and you're caring and yea, you may not show it all the time or want anyone to see it, but I do. You deserve someone who's gonna care about you and who will always choose you. Not sit around and let you suffer and let your heart break. I just wish you could see that."

"So does that mean you forgive me?" He asked hopeful.

"No," Charlotte said shaking her head. "You have to work for that, I'm not just gonna give it to you. But I'm here, no matter what."

"Are you okay? After tonight I mean…" he asked her concerned. He could tell she was still put off by what was going on with her.

"Yea, I'll be alright. But next time, you can play Prince Charming and come and rescue me!" She laughed out. Just because they were fighting, didn't mean they couldn't be civil.

Damon went to speak but was cut off by Charlotte's phone ringing.

She pulled it from her pocket and looked to see Jeremy's name flashing across the screen. She answered and Damon could see her face fall after a few moments before she finally hung up and yelled for Elena.

Her sister came running down the stairs and stopped short when she saw the expression on Charlotte's face.

"Jeremy just called, he tried calling you but you didn't answer." Charlotte told her.

"What? What's wrong?" Elena asked.

"We need to go to Matt's. They found Vicki."

And that's where they found themselves a short while later.

Elena burst through the front door, Charlotte hot on her heels and they made their way to Matt, pulling him in a tight hug. Charlotte let go after a minute and left him with Elena.

It was all getting to be too much. She was there when Vicki was killed and now here she was acting as if she never knew what had happened, like she was learning it all for the first time.

She walked down the hall and saw Jeremy leaning up against the wall. He looked up at her when he heard her footsteps. Charlotte could see that he was upset so she just walked forward and threw her arms around him, pulling him in tightly and rubbing her hand up and down his back as he cried.

"Shh, its okay Jer. Everything's gonna be alright." Those were the only words she could come up with, her heart breaking hearing her little brother cry.

The Gilbert siblings finally made it home and Jeremy made way to go upstairs.

"Jer…are you ok?" Elena called out to him.

"I'm gonna go get some sleep." Jeremy replied as he continued to walk up the stairs.

Charlotte crawled into bed, staring up at the ceiling in darkness. She looked towards her door when she heard it creak open. Elena was standing there and Charlotte moved over, pulling the blankets down and patting the open space next to her. Elena quickly moved forward and crawled in beside her, reaching for her hand once she was under the covers.

That was all they needed, the comfort of being in each other's presence with no words needing to be spoken. They just needed each other.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfit in link on profile!**

So in this chapter… Damon and Charlie experience their first big fight as friends, we see some Klaus and some dreams/memories from the past, Elena, Charlie and Damon stage a rescue for Stefan and Vicki's body is found.

How should Damon make it up to Charlie? Or do you think she's overreacting? Do we like seeing these little Klaus snippets?

Leave your thoughts please! They make me know I'm not writing for nothing **:)**


	17. Chapter 16: Under Control

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay. I wanted to have this chapter out yesterday but there's been really bad weather so power has been cutting out and I had to rewrite the whole chapter because I forgot to save it! Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 16: Under Control

"Jeremy! Let's go, we're going to school." Charlotte called out to her brother who was still upstairs.

"We're walking out the door... Now!" Elena continued as they walked from the kitchen.

"You forgot this." Aunt Jenna called from behind them, causing the sisters to turn around, she came closer and handed Elena her thermos.

"Thank you." Elena muttered.

Charlotte opened the front door but quickly slammed it shut.

"What?" Her sister asked.

"Nothing, I'm just hallucinating. Yep, that has to be it!"

Elena moved forward to open the door when she heard a knock, and there the devil stood.

"Elena! Charlie!" Uncle John said happily as a smile formed on his face.

"Uncle John... hi." "Ugh, guess it's real." Elena and Charlotte said at the same time.

"Jenna!" He said, looking behind the sisters.

"John... You made it."

Charlotte smirked; she could hear the disappointment in Jenna's voice. She didn't want him to come.

"I said I'll be here before noon." John told her, pushing his way into the house.

"Oh. What you do and what you say are typically two different things." Jenna retorted.

Charlotte turned when she heard footsteps from the staircase.

"Uncle John. What's up?" Jeremy asked, slapping his shoulder as he walked past him and out the door.

"Hey." John said turning to his nephew, before he turned to the three women before him. "I had some business in town; I thought a visit was in order."

"So how long are you staying?" Elena asked him before Charlotte cut her off.

"Hopefully not for long, yea?"

"I don't know yet." John mused mockingly. He knew, and he had a motive for staying. What it was Charlotte and Elena didn't know.

"Alright well, it was just lovely to see you!" Charlotte told him sarcastically, and grabbed Elena's hand. "But we have to get to school."

"Yeah… I'll see you later." Elena mumbled, letting Charlotte pull her out the door.

When they were walking down the porch steps, Elena decided to speak.

"Why is he here?"

"I don't know Lena. But I'm sure we're about to find out."

[]

The sisters were now standing by their lockers talking to Matt.

"He said his trip is open ended." Elena informed her former boyfriend.

"Uncle John... I never really liked that guy." Matt admitted with a small smile.

Charlotte scoffed.

"Please, like you could name a person who does."

"I'm here for moral support if either of you need it." Matt offered giving the girls a cheeky grin, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Thanks." Elena told him. "But I think me and Charlie will suffer this one alone?"

"Speak for yourself." The chestnut haired girl muttered, receiving an elbow to her ribs courtesy of Elena.

"You've been through enough." Elena continued sending Matt a look of sorrow.

"Thank you by the way." Matt responded, his eyes were solely focused on Elena. "The both of you. For everything you did at Vicki's funeral and the memorial. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Of course Matt." Elena said with a small nod and Charlotte gave him a smile.

"So is Caroline still baking for you guys around the clock?" Charlotte laughed out.

"She finally went to her dad, which is a good thing." Matt began and then chuckled, "My mom was going to strangle her if she dropped off one more lasagna."

Matt closed his locker shut and they all began walking.

Charlotte snorted loudly, earning a weird look from her sister and friend.

"Sorry, I just got a mental image of Kelly and Care!"

And with that they all chuckled and walked to their classes.

[]

The bell rang signaling that history was over and the students hurried from the door while Charlotte and Elena made their way up to Alaric's desk. He pulled out a packet of paper.

"I made a copy of the paper Jeremy wrote for me. I think you should take a look at it." He told them handing it to Charlotte.

Elena stood over her shoulder seeing as she was taller than her sister and read the title of the paper.

"Fact or Fiction: The Truth about Vampire in Mystic Falls." Charlotte mumbled and was about to ask Alaric a question before Elena beat her to it.

"Jeremy wrote this?"

Alaric nodded his head.

"He's very clear that he didn't think it was real."

"I really hope you're right because me and Charlie have done so much to protect him from all of this." Elena told him.

"This was how many weeks ago? He has to know something's up; he was seeing Anna. I don't even know if he still is. But this can't just be a coincidence." Charlotte exclaimed handing the paper back to her history teacher.

"So, how do you deal with it?" He asked them.

"What do you mean?"

"With all the lies and the secrets. You have to lie to everyone's who's important to you."

"It's not safe for them to know the truth." Charlotte told him shrugging.

"So yes, we keep it from them, but it's only because we love them." Elena added.

Everyone was silent; no one knew what to say. And then Alaric spoke.

"I think Stefan is a good guy. But at the end of the day, he's still a vampire."

"I know it's hard to understand, but Stefan is different. He would never do anything to hurt me." Elena defended.

"And Damon?"

Elena looked to Charlotte, telling her with her eyes to answer.

"He may seem, I don't know, extreme? But underneath his whole evil vampire persona, he's good. I know, I've seen a side of him that, I don't think he's shown to anyone else since he was human. You just have to look deep enough to find it. You'll see."

[]

Charlotte was walking downstairs after doing her homework to get a snack. When she walked into the kitchen she saw John sitting at the island with Jenna and Jeremy, and rolled her eyes, going to the fridge.

"You're still here?" She asked disappointed causing Jenna to snort.

"Always so charming Charlie." John told her sarcastically.

"So what's the scoop? Huh?" Charlotte asked teasingly, hopping up on the counter.

"John's trying to force me to go the Founder's Party." Jeremy told her and then turned to John. "I have no interest in going to the Founder's Day Kickoff Party."

"Sure you do its tradition." John argued.

"It will be our role to break the tradition." Jenna stated, standing behind Charlotte.

"The Gilbert's have been a part of this town for a hundred and fifty years. We're one of the founding families and with that distinction comes certain obligations including going to the party. One day, when you can appreciate the significance, I'll tell you all about your heritage." John told his nephew and niece.

"Hmm, the Gilbert family legacy. I forgot how secret it was. I'm not a Gilbert so I was never cool enough to hear it." Jenna told Charlotte.

"Why does she hate you?" Jeremy turned to John and asked.

"We used to sleep together." He replied nonchalantly receiving a bag to his head that Jenna threw.

Charlotte turned to her aunt wide eyed.

"When were you going to share this little tidbit of info?" And then she suddenly stopped, her face scrunching up in a look of disgust. "Ewww. You slept with _him_?"

Jenna ignored her and turned to John annoyed.

"I'm standing right here."

Charlotte hopped down from the counter; she didn't want to hear anymore. She walked down the hall and stopped, hearing a loud crash from upstairs before she bolted up them and to Elena's room, flinging open the door and seeing Stefan standing over a shattered lamp.

His eyes were slowly returning to normal and before she could blink, he was gone.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Charlotte asked rushing towards Elena who was slightly trembling.

She rubbed her sister's back trying to get her to calm down.

"We were kissing and then all of the sudden he pulled away. He must of got hungry or something, my blood must have been too much and then he….he flung himself to the wall, and that's when you walked in." Elena explained shakily.

Charlotte nodded her head and tried to be reasonable.

"Lena, maybe you should stay away from Stefa-" She tried to tell her, but Elena cut her off.

"What? No!"

"No, no, Lena, just until he gets this under control. He drank animal blood Elena. Maybe human blood is too much for him!"

"No!"

"Elena, maybe he wouldn't do it intentionally, but Stefan could hurt you! Do you understand that!" Charlotte exclaimed sternly.

Elena looked at her sister with tears in her eyes and all Charlotte could do was pity her.

"No!" Elena yelled, "Stefan has it under control! He would never hurt me!"

"Of course he does Lena… I'm just saying-"

"He's fine."

Charlotte nodded her head and knew what she had to do.

[]

The next morning Charlotte sent Damon a quick and simple text.

**_I need you._**

And she paced in her bedroom waiting for him to appear. Her head whipped to her bedroom door when she heard a knock coming from the front door. Seeing that no one else was going to open it she made her way down the stairs and opened it to find Damon on the other side.

"What happened to using my window?" She asked him incredulously.

"You always yell at me about using the front door," He told her pointedly. "And now you're yelling at me when I actually do use it. Make up your mind woman!"

"Just get in here," she demanded pulling his arm and shutting the door behind him. "Thanks for coming."

"You ask, I come. I'm easy like that."

Charlotte rolled her eyes at him before peeking into the kitchen and seeing Jeremy and Elena eating. She turned back to Damon and pressed her finger to her lips before pointing upstairs.

"No Charlotte I will not go to your room with you." He yelled out, catching her siblings' attention and Charlotte just dragged him up the stairs as best she could.

She pushed opened her door and Damon walked past her and tossed himself back onto her bed.

"Did you know that your uncle has been kicking it with the Founder's Council?" He asked her.

"Well he is a member of the Founding Family's Damon, I wouldn't be so surprised. But we'll just add that to the growing list of how everything is falling apart." She muttered.

Charlotte let out a deep breath before looking at Damon, her expression serious.

"We need to get back to the reason I wanted you here. Did you know that Stefan almost _**ate**_ my sister last night?" She asked him.

Damon just gave her a 'what are you talking about' look.

"I'm worried for Elena, Damon. Stefan says that everything's okay but clearly, as a sign from last night, he's struggling. How long is it gonna take before he goes back to normal? Because I don't want him around Elena if he's capable of hurting her!"

"A few days. Give or take." He answered, shrugging his shoulders.

Charlotte glared at him.

"Can you take this seriously? It's already been a few days!" she snarled.

"Give then, I don't know. What's the big deal?" He asked her rolling his eyes and getting up from her bed, walking over to her dresser and looking at the pictures stuck to her mirror.

"The big deal is that he obviously can't control his bloodlust around my sister! That's the big deal!"

Charlotte jumped when she was startled by Elena and turned around to face her sister.

"He's not himself, Damon." Elena muttered with a disheartened look on her face.

"Well, maybe his problem is that he has spent too long not being himself." He told her, opening the top drawer and rummaging through it, but before he could pull anything out, Charlotte slammed it shut and glared up at him.

"Please don't make me sorry for asking you."

He reached around her and pulled a picture of her and Elena from her mirror before speaking, this time, directly to Elena.

"It is what it is, Elena. The Stefan you know was 'good behavior Stefan', 'under control Stefan', 'fight his nature into an annoying excessive level Stefan' but if you think there isn't another part to this then you have not been paying attention."

"He's not you." Charlotte told him, trying to defend Elena's feelings.

"Not even close." Elena growled.

"Well, he doesn't want to be me. That doesn't mean that deep down he's not." Damon retorted walking closer to the older girl and staring down at her before he was gone.

[]

"We need to tell him." Elena said as her and Charlotte stood at Jeremy's door.

"Tell him what? That we're _not_ his real sisters? That _we're_ not even real sisters! That we're _not_ related to him? That our own parents lied to us our whole lives?" Charlotte muttered sarcastically as she knocked on Jeremy's door.

Elena just pushed open the door not bothering to wait for him to open it himself.

"Hey." She said softly.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Do you have some time to talk?" Charlotte asked him.

"Uh yeah sure." He answered.

"Not here." Elena told him "Come on. Let's get out of the house."

The siblings found themselves walking by the edge of a lake.

"I just can't believe mom and dad never told you guys that you were adopted." Jeremy said as we walked along a lake.

"I'm sure they would have." Elena defended.

"Eventually," Charlotte muttered.

"Why were you worried about what I thought?" Jeremy questioned with furrowed brows.

"Because Jer, it's weird."

"Yeah I mean living your whole life thinking you're related by blood to someone." Elena elaborated.

"Does it bug you that were not?" Jeremy asked looking over to their older sister.

"No Jer." Elena said, "You're my brother that's all that matters."

"Uh no he isn't." Charlotte mocked, sending a teasing look to her brother, who only bumped her shoulder with his and caused her to fall into Elena.

Elena grabbed her before she could knock both of them over and shook her head at her younger siblings' antics.

"So Mr. Saltzman said your doing great in history now."

"Yeah, yeah he's really been helping me out." Jeremy said looking over at Elena, "Gave me some extra credit and stuff-"

"He loved your vampire paper." Charlotte informed him carefully as to not tip him off that she was digging. "What drew you to that subject matter?"

"He thought I had a clever angle... And I don't know, boredom, or maybe I'm just as nuts as the long line of Gilbert crazy." Jeremy told her.

"The Gilbert's aren't crazy." Charlotte objected with a smile.

"Easy for you two to say, you guys aren't one." Jeremy said to them smirking.

"Ouch." Elena and Charlotte muttered at the same time mocking hurt.

Jeremy chuckled.

"Think we can take him?" Charlotte asked, looking over to her twin.

"Oh yeah," Elena told her coyly and Jeremy knew what they were planning so he broke off into a sprint, his older sisters chasing after him. Just like when they were kids.

[]

Charlotte was in her bedroom preparing for the Founder's Day Kickoff Party. She had just slipped on her dress when a gust of wind blew past her and she looked behind her to see Damon.

She let out a sigh and turned back around to look at him in the mirror, motioning for him to zip her up. Before he did that though, he pulled out a pink tulip behind his back and handed it to her.

As he zipped her dress, she gave him a soft smile before she let out a snort.

"You totally stole this from the neighbor's garden." Charlotte told him as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back into his chest, pressing a kiss into her hair.

Charlotte looked at Damon in the mirror and could see what he was going to say in his eyes before he could even speak the words.

"I know, Damon. I know. But you should go; I'll see you at the party."

He nodded his head, and went to leave before he turned back around.

"You look beautiful by the way."

And then he was gone.

[]

Charlotte was walking over to the bar where she saw Elena and Damon talking but she didn't even get close to reaching them when she was grabbed and twirled into someone's chest. She looked up to see Stefan smiling down at her.

"Umm…hi Stefan"

"Come dance with me." He demanded as he led her to the dance floor.

As he spun her around, Charlotte caught a whiff of his smell and scrunched her nose.

"Did you bathe in a distillery?" She asked him rhetorically, catching sight of her sister and Damon over Stefan's shoulder and raised an eyebrow at them. What the hell was going on with the younger Salvatore?

Stefan pulled her tightly into his chest, looking down at her.

"Listen, Charlie," He said to her, "I think we got off on the wrong foot, I mean, I thought we were going pretty well until that night at the cemetery."

Charlotte stared at him like he was an idiot.

"You were going to snap my neck!" She stated. "I think that gives me the right to be mad."

He laughed and shoved his face into her neck. Charlotte tensed, Stefan was drinking human blood and his face was pressed against her throat; this was the end for her. He pulled away and gave her a smile.

"You smell _really_ good." He twirled her around and then pulled her back in. "And I think I told you that night that I wasn't going to hurt you."

Thankfully the song ended and she pulled away from him, she needed to find Damon and get some answers. She looked around and found him at the bar.

"How did I know that I'd find you here?" Charlotte asked him sarcastically.

"I guess you just know me so well! Have a nice dance with Stefan?"

"What's going on with him Damon?"

"Ohh relax pretty girl, he'll be fine."

Seeing as she wasn't going to get the answers she wanted from Damon, she gave him a icy glare and stormed away.

When she walked into the next room, she snuck up behind Elena and Aunt Jenna.

"History teacher three o'clock." Charlotte whispered in a throaty voice.

"How do I look?" Jenna asked her nieces anxiously as she saw Alaric approaching.

"Beautiful." They answered together.

"I was looking for you." Alaric told Jenna with a kind smile.

"Here I am. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Well, uh..." Alaric, Charlotte and Elena shared an awkward look "Things have been a little crazy, but I'm here now. Do you want to get a drink?"

"Sure." Jenna nodded.

"Okay." Alaric smiled and led her away.

Charlotte looked across the room to see Jeremy, Damon and Sheriff Forbes.

"Well that's an odd trio." She muttered catching Elena's attention.

Before Elena could respond though, Matt appeared behind her. Charlotte gave him a smile and a pat on the shoulder and walked away towards Damon who was now standing alone.

"What was that about?" She questioned confused, pulling his arm so that Damon would turn around and face her.

"Jeremy's been asking questions about Vicki Donovan's death." He informed her.

"He knows that her death was ruled an overdose." Charlotte told him with a shake of her head.

"Really? 'Oh, but, Sheriff, someone buried her. Who would do that?'. I know, I know! Me!" He whispered holding his hand up "I could compel him, but he's wearing vervain."

"What's going on? Who would you compel?" Elena asked having heard the last part as she was walking over.

"Jeremy. He's been asking questions about Vicki." Charlotte stated to her sister before turning to Damon with a stern look on her face. "And no Damon, I don't want you to compel him."

"If he keeps asking questions..." He trailed off.

"Damon, no. We're serious." Elena interfered. "We're not going to do that to him, not again. We'll handle it."

Damon rolled his eyes at the sisters before he pulled a deep red rose from the vase sitting beside him and handed it to Elena, giving her a seductive look.

"Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Charlotte watched as Damon strutted away and look at her older sister wide eyed.

"You want to explain to me what the hell that was?" She asked.

Elena just gave her a hard stare.

"It was nothing. You know how Damon is; I'm going to find Jer."

And she walked away, leaving Charlotte sitting at the bar alone.

"Hey you,"

Charlotte groaned hearing the voice that had spoken to her. She had had enough of Stefan for one night. She turned to face him and gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"What are you doin all by yourself?" He asked her smiling.

"Everyone left me." She answered shortly. She had hoped that he would get that she didn't want to speak with him, but apparently he didn't.

"Well, you can count on me. I won't leave you." He told her with a wide grin. He then held out his hand. "Come dance with me."

"How about…you get the bartender to give me a drink?" Charlotte compromised.

And five drinks later, Charlotte and Stefan were buddy-buddy at the bar, laughing and joking like they'd been friends for their whole lives, the girl's hazel eyes glassy from all the drinks she had consumed.

Stefan grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with hers and pulled her from the stool and out to the dance floor, twirling and shimmying around it until Stefan pulled her in close.

"You're kinda fun." He told her, making Charlotte make a mock appalled face.

"Kinda? I'm a blast!" She laughed out, before pulling away from him and grabbing his arm. "C'mon let's go get another drink."

They found their way back to the bar and Stefan compelled the bartender to give them drinks. Charlotte was just about to bring the glass to her lips when it was snatched from her hand and her chin was grabbed forcibly by Damon.

He looked into her eyes before letting go and turning to Stefan.

"Really? You got her drunk?" He growled to his younger brother.

"Leave Steffie alone, Damon! We're having some fun together! Right bud?" She turned asking Stefan with a sloppy grin on her face, eyes twinkling.

Damon swore under his breath.

"We don't have time for this." He motioned to the two drunken teenagers. "You want to hear the bad news or the really bad news?"

"Actually, I don't want to hear any news. Now go, me and Charlie were having a great time until you arrived." Stefan told his brother, grabbing Charlotte's hand and trying to pull her back to the dance floor before Damon grabbed her other hand, stopping them from going anywhere.

"Alright, let me rephrase. Do you want to hear how the council is back in vampire mode, or how I killed Uncle John Gilbert?" Damon elaborated.

"Damon! You what!" The chestnut haired girl hissed at him. She was shocked sober.

"Great party by the way, huh?" He smirked before grabbing Charlotte from Stefan and pulling her along with him.

Charlotte looked over her shoulder to see that Stefan was gone.

"I'm not some sort of rag doll you can just drag around!" She growled out, pulling herself out of Damon's grip only for him to put his arm around her shoulder and start walking again, but he stopped dead in his tracks.

"You've got to be kidding me." He muttered.

Charlotte followed his line of sight to see Uncle John.

"I thought you said you killed him Damon! Or is this one of your sick jokes!" She hissed.

"I did Charlotte!" He growled back and grabbed her hand leading her to stand beside Alaric where all three listened to Mayor Lockwood do his speech.

"Thank you all, thank you very much, thank you. Thank you all for joining us tonight in just a few moments we will officially start the countdown for our upcoming Founder's Day Celebration and it's a very special one this year. The 150th birthday of our own town." Mayor Lockwood said with a smile as he over looked the crowd while everyone clapped.

"And I would like to welcome back one of our town favorite's sons to do the honor of ringing our official charter bell. John Gilbert would you please join me up here?" Everyone clapped again as John walked happily up onto the stage.

Charlotte was confused as she watched John look around the crowd and stopped when his eyes caught Damon.

"One hundred and fifty years of community, prosperity, family. We take care of each other, look after each other, _protect _each other." John said staring straight at Damon, "It's good to be home"

"Look at his right hand." Damon whispered to her and Alaric.

"Who's?"

"Towns favorite's son. Look at his ring."

Charlotte looked at her Uncle as he pulled the rope, ringing the bell. She focused on his hand and saw a ring that looked identical to Alaric's.

"Well, it looks like mine." Alaric told the vampire.

"Yeah and that would be a big coincidence if he didn't just come back from the dead five minutes ago." Damon snarled. "Where the hell did you get that ring?"

"Isobel, my wife." Alaric answered, looking down at his ring.

Charlotte's eyes grew as wide as they could.

'_Holy shit.'_ She thought.

"Who gave birth to Elena?" Damon asked, "Under the medical care of the esteemed Dr. Grayson Gilbert, John's brother!"

"You don't think?" Charlotte muttered with a shaky breath still trying to comprehend her thoughts. She needed to tell Elena.

"Wait you think John and Isobel?" Alaric asked skeptically.

"I think John knows a lot of things." Damon responded.

All of their eyes were locked on John.

Charlotte had departed from the duo and went on a search for Elena. She found her in the parking lot standing over a man and ran over to here the end of the conversation.

"My arm. I lost my balance and fell. I'm clumsy." He told Elena.

Charlotte walked up to her sister as the man walked away.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"I don't know, but if I had to take a guess. Stefan." Elena mumbled with a shake of her head.

When Charlotte and Elena got home with Aunt Jenna, she said her goodnights and went straight up to her room. She could tell Elena her newfound discovery about Uncle John tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfits in link on profile!**

Sorry this chapter is so shoddy, I explained in the beginning.

So in this chapter, Uncle John arrives and the sisters tell Jeremy the truth, we see some Damon/Charlie and some Stefan/Charlie, and Charlotte puts the pieces together about John and Isobel.

Maybe some Klaus in the next chapter.

Thoughts? Concerns?

Leave a review!** :)**


	18. Chapter 17: Miss Mystic Falls

Chapter 17: Miss Mystic Falls

"I'm telling you Elena, John and Isobel _know_ each other!" Charlotte exclaimed.

The sisters were at school, walking around before class started.

"Charlie, how can you be so sure it's not just a coincidence?" Elena asked.

"Umm, let's see, Alaric's ring and John's ring, are like, a complete replica of one another. And Alaric got his ring from Isobel, who came to Dad to have you delivered, etc. etc. etc. Now you put the pieces together!" Charlotte ranted.

Elena just glared at her sister.

"I don't want to talk about this right now. At least until we're absolutely positive that all this is true. Okay?"

Charlotte huffed.

"Fine. Now where is this boyfriend of yours?"

And just as the words left her lips, Stefan pulled up in his cherry red sports car.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" The younger girl muttered under her breath and rolled her eyes.

"Nice car." Elena commented walking closer to him.

Stefan smiled and met her halfway.

"Well it was a waste to leave it sitting in the garage." He told her, grasping her face in his hands and kissing her.

"We didn't know you were coming back today." Charlotte said, causing the couple to break apart. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"You know." Stefan started, "I woke up this morning and I was feeling great and I figured it was time for me to get back into things."

Charlotte didn't believe him; she could see that something was different about Stefan.

"Does that mean your okay now, with all the cravings?" Elena asked.

"Yea I mean the worst part is over so…" Stefan said, and it sounded to Charlotte like he was trying to choose his words wisely. He didn't want to tip them off that something was wrong.

"Now all I want to do is spend as much time with you as possible." Stefan cooed to Elena.

"I'm okay with that." Elena told him flirtatiously, leaning forward to kiss him.

Stefan pulled away and looked into her eyes.

"Hey, thank you for helping me get through the rough patch."

"Yea, yea, you're welcome." The younger girl said sarcastically. "Now hurry up. We're gonna be late for class."

The couple started walking towards her but Stefan abruptly stopped.

"You know what? I'll catch up with you guys, I'm just gonna grab my stuff. You guys go on, I'll be right behind you." He told the sisters.

Charlotte brows furrowed, scrutinizing the vampire.

"Okay." Elena nodded walking with her sister into the school.

Before they walked into class though, Charlotte grabbed her sister's elbow and pulled her back so she could whisper into her ear.

"I call bullshit!" She muttered, talking about Stefan's attitude and appearance.

[]

Charlotte was sitting in history, chin resting on her hand and listening to Alaric drone on about what the class was going to be learning.

"Okay. This week we're going to set aside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founder's Day. Apparently the community leaders are more important than World War 2 but hey what do I know?"

He was interrupted from continuing however when Bonnie burst through the door and hurried to her seat.

"Sorry I'm late." She apologized.

"Well it looks like we'll be of full occupancy today. Welcome home Bonnie," Alaric said smiling.

Charlotte turned to Bonnie and gave her a wide smile, she returned a soft smile of her own but it quickly disappeared when she looked at Stefan.

Elena gave her a look, as if to ask her what was going on and the only thing Charlotte could do was shrug her shoulders. She had no clue.

[]

It was after class when the Gilbert sisters were looking around for Bonnie and finally caught sight of the witch, walking down the hall and looking through papers.

"Bonnie!" Charlotte yelled while she and Elena caught up with her.

"Hey." Bonnie greeted, turning around to face them.

"Hey, we tried to grab you after class but you had already taken off." Elena told her. "How are you? How's your family?"

"Were dealing, it's been hard."

"Everyone here really missed you." Charlotte exclaimed softly.

"I've just had so much to deal with after Grams' funeral and, honestly after you told me that the tomb spell failed I just didn't really want to come back." Bonnie professed.

"I hope you understand why I called, it was for you to know before you came home." Elena explained.

"I understand... I just shouldn't know."

Charlotte started to get fidgety from the awkward silence that suddenly fell over them.

"I know it's been really hard-" Elena began but she was cut off by a bubbly blonde.

"Bonnie!" Caroline screeched, pulling their friend into a hug. "Bonnie! I'm so glad your home! I know we talked everyday but I missed you! How are you doing?"

Bonnie smiled at her blonde friend and Elena and Charlotte shared an upset look. Bonnie wasn't as happy to see them as she was Caroline.

'_They talked __**everyday**__? Bonnie always ignored __**our**__ calls.'_ Charlotte thought.

"Better. Better." Bonnie said with a smile. "You know? Glad to be back and trying to keep myself busy."

"I can help with that!" Caroline informed her smiling brightly. "Wardrobe, ASAP, you need to help me pick the perfect dress for the Founder's court!"

"The Founder's court?" Charlotte repeated, turning to her sister with furrowed brows. Elena reciprocated her look.

"Um did we miss something?" The older girl asked, turning to look at Caroline.

"The Founder's court!" Caroline answered, looking at them like they were idiots. "You know, Miss Mystic Falls? They announced it today and you, me, and Charlie are all on it."

"Oh my god! We signed up for that so long ago." Elena breathed out, turning to face her sister with an astonished look.

"We completely forgot about that..." Charlotte whispered, droning off.

"Soooo… are you dropping out then?" Caroline asked them, with a hopeful expression on her face. She wanted them to say yes.

Elena and Charlotte turned to look at each other and knew that they couldn't quit.

"We can't."

"No?" Caroline asked with a slight frown on her lips, looking towards Bonnie.

"Their mom was the one who wanted them to enter." Bonnie explained.

[]

Elena had just got off the phone with Stefan when Charlotte walked into the kitchen. She could see on her younger sister's face that she was contemplating something.

"I think I'm gonna drop out of the pageant." Charlotte stated.

"What? Why?" Elena exclaimed.

The hazel eyed girl just shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm just not into it anymore. I don't know? But I'll still be there to cheer you on and support you!" She reassured with a soft smile. "I mean, I can't just let that pretty dress go to waste. Can I?"

Elena nodded her head, letting out a small chuckle.

"So was that Stefan you were just speaking to?" Charlotte inquired.

"Yea, he's gonna be my escort."

"That's exciting!" The younger girl said grinning widely; but on the inside she was cringing. "Well, I'm gonna go and lay down. I'll see you later."

Charlotte turned from the kitchen and hurriedly made her way up the stairs and to her bedroom, grabbing her cell phone from the nightstand and dialing Damon.

"Please tell me that you have Stefan under control." She rushed out as soon as he answered.

"Well hello to you too, pretty girl."

"Well? Do you?" Now wasn't the time for greetings.

"Not exactly…" Damon dragged out. "You see, we still kinda have a blood junkie problem."

"What do you mean! How bad?"

"Like…Stefan robbed a blood bank and now has his own private stash, bad. Or how about the Council knows and is now on the look out for vampires again bad, bad. Or how about how, your Uncle John is starting to get on my nerves!" Damon informed her.

"Ughh…" Charlotte groaned. "We need to fix this! He's escorting Elena at the pageant. I can't risk my sister's well being Damon!"

"We'll figure something out." He promised. "But in the mean time…who's _your_ escort? I'd be happy to be your date."

Charlotte snorted.

"No thanks. And besides I dropped out. Pageantry just isn't for me anymore." She trailed off.

[]

The next morning, Charlotte was in Elena's room getting ready for the pageant and listening to Elena tell her about her encounter with Bonnie yesterday.

"So what? She hates us now?" Charlotte asked with raised eyebrows.

Elena shook her head.

"She didn't say _that_, she just blames Stefan and Damon for her grams death. I had to practically force her to talk to me! She just doesn't want us to choose sides." Elena explained.

Charlotte let out a sigh.

"Well that's pretty understandable Lena. I mean, Damon and Stefan are part of the reason Grams is dead and do we really need to think about whom to choose? Bonnie has been our friend since we were children; _young _children. I think the choice is pretty obvious!"

Seeing the disheartened look that marred her older sister's features, Charlotte stood up and smoothed out her dress, walking over to Elena and rubbing her shoulder gently.

"I don't want to have to choose Charlie." She murmured.

"I know Lena. I know."

"But on a happier note. You ready to win this pageant and become Miss Mystic Falls?" Charlotte teased.

"Nope. I wish you were doing it with me!"

Charlotte eyes held a mocking look and she stuck her nose in the air as she sauntered away.

"If I _was_ in this pageant, you'd never have a chance." Her façade was ruined when she let out a laugh. "Now c'mon, Alaric should be arriving any minute."

Just as the sisters were walking down the stairs, a knock on the door could be heard.

"It's open, come in!" Charlotte called, knowing it was their chauffeur for the evening.

"Hi." Alaric greeted walking through the front door.

"Hey. I heard you're driving." Elena told him.

"Yeah I am. I'll take that for you." He said to Elena reaching out for her dress.

"Thanks."

"Yeah. How…how is Stefan?" Alaric asked.

Charlotte's eyes widened. The vampire hunter noticed something was off about him too. This was bad.

"What do you mean?"

Alaric cleared his throat.

"You know. He seems... on edge."

"He went through a lot. He was in bad shape for a while but he's bouncing back." Elena defended.

Alaric turned to face Charlotte and raised an eyebrow. The girl only pursed her lips and shook her head as a way to tell him that Stefan wasn't doing well.

He nodded in understanding and they all turned at the approaching footsteps.

"Ugh! Are you _ever_ going to leave!" Charlotte groaned but John just ignored her and focused on Alaric.

"Alaric! Hey buddy. What are you doing here?"

"I'm the chauffeur."

"I thought I was driving?" John asked looking puzzled.

"No need." Jenna told him as she came down the stairs.

"Are we ready?" Elena questioned, wanting to get out of the tension filled room.

"Mmhmm…." Charlotte mumbled, glancing around at everyone's faces.

Jenna grabbed her purse about to walk out the door right before she turned around and smiled at John.

"Jeremy can ride with you."

Charlotte guffawed.

"Way to throw Jer under the bus Aunt Jenna!" She told her aunt closing the front door behind her.

[]

"Thanks for helping me." Elena said to her sister as Charlotte was curling her hair.

"Don't thank me because by the time your hair is definitely going to be scorched." Charlotte joked.

Just as the girls were giggling, Aunt Jenna came up the stairs.

"You girls look beautiful." She told the sisters smiling.

"Thank you."

"Charlie, do you remember when mom and us were first applying for this?" Elena asked with a soft smile.

"She was so excited." Charlotte exclaimed with a watery smile.

"So were you two if I remember correctly." Jenna informed.

"I was." Charlotte admitted.

"She just made it sound like so much fun." Elena smiled. "So much has changed since then."

"Yeah sorry but I think it's a little late to be getting cold feet Elena." Jenna informed her oldest niece as she looked at the clock.

"I don't have cold feet it's just that...I think that I'd be enjoying it a lot more if she was here."

"Well I'll tell you one thing; your hair would have a much better chance if she was.

"Hey!" Charlotte protested with an affronted look on her face. "It's not that bad!"

"Alright I should go put my dress on." Elena said standing up as Charlotte unplugged the curling iron and set it down to let it cool before she rolled it up.

[]

Charlotte was just standing around waiting for the pageant to start when she saw Stefan making his way down the stairs. She followed a safe distance behind him, hoping that he wouldn't take notice to her presence.

She watched as he walked into the bathroom and heard something shatter from beyond the door. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Amber go into the bathroom until she saw Stefan leading the girl away.

She followed after them and she saw Stefan compelling Amber. He had to be stopped.

"Stefan!" Charlotte called out to him, walking closer to the duo. "What are you doing!"

Before she had time to react, Stefan blurred towards her and the next thing she saw was black.

[]

Damon and Elena were frantically searching around for any sign of Amber and Stefan. They let out a relieved sigh when Amber came through the doors.

"Amber!" Elena exclaimed rushing towards the girl. "Are you okay? Have you seen Stefan?"

Amber nodded her head.

"Yea, he's outside with Charl-"

Damon took off in a run before she could finish her sentence. He sniffed the air and could smell Charlotte's blood. He was frantic.

Elena took off after him, and Bonnie taking notice followed closely behind.

"Stefan!" Damon called out once he reached them, and if his skin could pale anymore, it would have in that moment.

Stefan pulled his fangs out of Charlotte's neck, blood dripping from his mouth as he was kneeling down next to her unmoving body.

Damon could still hear her faint heart beat and took a hesitant step forward as Elena and Bonnie arrived.

"Oh my god!" They both whispered.

"Stefan it's okay." Damon soothed as Stefan rose to his feet dropping Charlotte's body to the ground. "Just let me have Charlie. It's okay, get control. Just breathe through it."

Stefan rushed forward catching Damon and threw him up against a tree.

"Stefan! Stop it!" Elena cried out.

Suddenly, Stefan gripped his head in pain. Bonnie was casting a spell on him.

It was as if Stefan snapped out of his bloodlust. He looked down at Charlotte with remorse and went to step towards her before Bonnie's voice stopped him.

"Don't you dare touch her!"

Stefan turned to Elena and gave her an apologetic look.

"It's okay. Stefan-" Damon told him, slowly taking steps towards his brother, but Stefan backed away and blurred into the trees.

Once he was gone Elena rushed towards her sister, dropping to her knees and trying to find a pulse.

"Damon! She's not breathing! She's not breathing Damon!"

Damon walked towards the sisters and tried to listen in for a heart beat. It was slowly beating. He tore into his wrist and brought it to Charlotte's mouth, coaxing her to drink and let out a relieved sigh as she began to suck down the blood.

"She'll be okay." He said looking at Elena and trying to reassure her. "She'll be okay."

"Can you guys handle this? I need to get her out of here." He asked/stated, lifting the unconscious girl into his arms and cradling her to his chest.

When they nodded he blurred from sight and to the boarding house where he laid his friend on his bed, going to the bathroom to get stuff to clean her wound.

Once she was cleaned and he changed her from her dress and into one of his shirts, he knew that he had to do something about Stefan. He couldn't let Charlotte, or anyone else get hurt again.

He pulled out his phone and texted Elena, watching as Charlotte's chest slowly rose and fell, knowing that she'd probably be out until the morning.

And by the end of the night, Stefan was locked in the cellar dungeon where Damon was only months before.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Outfits link in profile!**

Sorry for the long wait, I've just been really stressed. And I apologize for how sucky this chapter is; I don't know why but I just found it difficult to write. And sorry if there are any errors in this chapter, I just skimmed through it quickly.

There may be some Klaus in the next chapter because I feel like he hasn't been there much.

So I've come up with a plan! I'm going to update the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th of every month! So that's like an update every 5 days! Is that good?

So this is an early update for the 5th and the next update should arrive on the 10th.

Thanks to all my readers :)

Leave your thoughts or opinions!


	19. Chapter 18: Blood Brothers

**A/N: I'm sure that when I get to the chapters where Klaus comes in, I'll get into a groove and updates will come out quicker.**

* * *

Chapter 18: Blood Brothers

_Charlotte was in the stables, rubbing her hand along the muzzle of her new horse. She had received the mare yesterday for her fourteenth birthday._

"_Have you picked a name for her yet?"_

_The hazel eyed girl jumped, spinning around startled and bringing a hand to her chest as if it would calm her pacing heart._

"_Niklaus! You scared me!" Charlotte exclaimed, taking a deep breath. "What are you doing in here?"_

_Niklaus took a step forward and gave her a soft smile. _

_Charlotte looked up at him, slightly confused, but wholly enamored with his stormy blue eyes._

"_Is there something you wanted?" She inquired with a tilt of her head. _

_Niklaus was captivated by her beauty, he wasn't even paying attention to the words coming from her mouth as he just gazed down upon her. _

"_Niklaus…Niklaus?"_

_He snapped from his trance as she waved a hand in front of his face. _

"_Yes," he told her clearing his throat. "I have something for you, but I wanted to give it to you when we were alone."_

_Charlotte smiled so wide that her dimples were on full display._

"_A present?" She asked excitedly._

_Niklaus nodded and reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out a small box. He reached out and placed it gently in her hand._

_Charlotte gave him a soft smile before pulling the lid off of the box. A gasp escaped from her full lips._

"_How did you know?" _

_She wasn't really directing the question at him, but he answered anyways._

"_I saw you and Bekah at the market the other day. You couldn't take your eyes off of it."_

_Charlotte slowly pulled the necklace from the box watching as it shined and sparkled in the light peaking into the stable._

"_I love it Niklaus. Thank you!"_

_She held the necklace out to him with a raised eyebrow._

"_Of course." He murmured, motioning for her to turn around._

_Charlotte lifted her hair from her shoulders and a shiver pulsed through her body as Niklaus' fingers brushed her neck as he was tying the necklace. _

_Once he had finished she dropped her hair and touched the necklace lightly with her fingers, a small smile on her lips as she gazed up at him. _

"_Thank you. You didn't have to." _

_Niklaus, however, didn't answer her with words. He brought his hands up to cup her cheeks, one of his thumbs slowly brushing over her bottom lip. _

_He dreamed of the day he would be able to do this; and he had no knowledge that she was dreaming of this moment too. _

_And with one final step forward, Niklaus brought his lips down upon Charlotte's, giving her a soft and slow kiss, hoping that she would feel all the love he was putting into it._

_As he pulled away, Charlotte was breathless. Her eyes fluttered open and her cheeks developed a blush, making Niklaus chuckle._

"_Happy Birthday."_

Charlotte slowly opened her eyes, blinking them a few times to adjust to the light.

"Hey sleepyhead, it's about time you woke up."

She turned to see Damon standing in the doorway to his bedroom. Charlotte stretched her aching muscle, giving a huge yawn as she did so.

She suddenly panicked and brought her hand to her neck.

She felt smooth skin.

"You're okay." Damon told her, before looking thoughtful. "Well, physically, I don't know how you're feeling though. Care to tell?"

Charlotte pondered for a moment.

"Where's Stefan?"

"He practically tore you're throat out and your asking where he is?" Damon muttered sarcastically. "He's locked up."

She nodded her head, looking around the room.

"Elena brought you a change of clothes." He pointed over to the chair in the corner. "So take a shower and come downstairs when you're done. You're sister will be happy to see you!"

When Damon left the room, closing the door behind him, Charlotte threw herself back down onto his bed, snuggling into the blankets and pillows. She quickly frowned when she heard Damon through the door.

"Get up Charlotte!"

"Get up Charlotte." She mocked moodily, pulling herself from the bed and lugging her body to the bathroom.

When she stood over the sink, looking in the mirror, she noticed she looked like crap.

"Ugh, life was so much easier without all of this shit!" She grumbled, pulling the elastic from her chestnut locks and stripping from Damon's shirt as she walked over to turn the shower on.

Her shoulders slumped as she waited for the water to get hot and when it's temperature was to her liking, she stepped under the spray, letting out a sigh as the steaming water washed away all the tension in her body.

Charlotte spent her time snapping the caps of Damon's shampoos and washes, smelling them to see which one's she liked before washing her greasy hair and the sweat and grime for her body.

Once she was rinsed she just stood under the shower head for a few more minutes before stepping out and wrapping in a fluffy towel.

She dried off and quickly dressed in the clothes that Elena brought for her, glad at how comfortable they were, and then rubbed the moisture from her hair as best she could before piling the wet strands on top of her head and securing them with a hair tie.

Charlotte walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the living room and before she could brace herself, Elena threw her entire body at her younger sister.

"Elena! You heifer! Get off of me!" The younger girl groaned.

Elena gripped her face with her hands, looking into her eyes.

"Are you okay? Do you feel alright!"

"I'm fine, so you can relax now!" Charlotte reassured.

She pursed her lips before asking the question on her mind.

"How's Stefan?"

"And here we go again!" Damon muttered, earning a glare from Charlotte.

"It's not like he did it on purpose Damon! You said yourself how tempting my blood is, Stefan couldn't control himself!" She defended. "So, yes I am kind of pissed because it's always me he decides to eat. But until he can control himself, I'm going to be keeping my distance. And then, he can _try_ to apologize."

She threw herself down on the couch, hands behind her head and ankles crossed.

"You're something else pretty girl."

Charlotte just shrugged her shoulders and Elena motioned to the basement door.

"Tell Stefan I'm rooting for him, yea? Oh! Oh! And tell him that he owes me a new dress!"

…

In the basement, Stefan was laying back on the bench, sweating profusely. Due to his lack of blood, the hallucinations had started.

_Men were running around frantically, their path being lit by torches. Jonathan Gilbert, with pocket watch in hand, was leading the way to the vampires that would soon be captured._

_A few men were dragging a vampire that had been injected with vervain. Jonathan walked over, slapping the vampire's cheek to make sure he was knocked out and once satisfied, strapped a muzzle to its mouth and threw it into the carriage._

_Inside that carriage were vampires. And one of those vampires was Katherine Pierce._

"_We have to get to the church. They're waiting." Jonathan told his group of men._

_Stefan and Damon were watching the tragic scene from behind a set of bushes. They were trying to come up with a plan to get Katherine back._

"_Circle around that way. I'll distract them. Go." Stefan told his older brother before stepping out from behind the bush. _

_Damon nodded and waited for Stefan to lead the men away._

_He watched as Stefan stepped from behind the bush, and called out to the men._

"_Over here! There's another one! Quick! Help me!" _

_Stefan waved his arms in the direction opposite of the carriage._

"_Arm yourselves." Jonathan ordered, as they followed after Stefan, only leaving one man to watch over the carriage._

_The man guarding the carriage was swiftly knocked out by Damon, who searched through the unconscious man's pocket for the keys to unlock the carriage._

_He let out a breath he had been holding when he finally retrieved them and swiftly unlocked the carriage, Stefan coming up behind him._

"_We don't have long." Stefan whispered._

_Once the carriage door was opened, they both scanned inside, searching for the woman they loved._

"_Katherine." Damon murmured spotting her curled up in a corner. "Katherine."_

_Both brothers reached in and gently pulled the dark haired woman out, setting her gently on the ground as if she was a fragile china doll._

_They carefully untied her and took off the muzzle that was placed over her mouth._

"_We're going to get you out of here." _

"_Damon, hurry. Hurry."_

_Suddenly, a gun shot rang through the air. Damon fell to the cold, hard ground with a thud._

_Stefan jumped up, rushing over to his older brother, but by the time he reached him, Damon was already gone._

"_No!" Stefan yelled, stroking his pale cheek. "No. Damon!"_

_Stefan could hear someone coming closer so he stood up, stepping back to the man that Damon knocked out earlier and reached for his gun. _

_Another shot rang through the air, striking Stefan and knocking him to the ground._

_He was lying in front of Katherine, groaning in pain. Her brown eyes opened having heard the shot and she gasped seeing the life leaving Stefan's eyes._

Stefan's mind drifted back to the present, opening his eyes, he saw Damon leaning over him.

"Stefan... Stefan." Damon murmured.

"Stefan." Elena repeated.

"_I love you Stefan." Katherine whispered._

"I love you Stefan." Elena whispered as he heard Katherine say the same words to him.

_Katherine was staring into his eyes as Jonathan Gilbert's men returned to the carriage, taking in the scene before them. _

Damon pulled Elena from the dungeon like room, locking the door behind him.

_They noticed Katherine and picked her up, tossing her back in the carriage and locking her in._

_Katherine grasped the metal bars of the carriage as she stared at Stefan._

Elena held onto the bars of the door.

_Stefan watched as the carriage carrying Katherine began to leave, his eyes never leaving her's as his vision began to fade._

Elena took one last glance back at Stefan before stepping away from the bars.

"It's so hard to see him locked up like this." Elena said with a shake of her head.

"You're the one who locked him up." Damon informed her.

"You helped."

"Well we couldn't have him running around chewing on people, especially your sister. Or have you already forgotten? Not while the town was looking for vampires, now, could I?" Damon stated/asked matter-of-factly.

"It had nothing to do with you actually caring about him?" Elena questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Your thing, not mine." Damon told her, turning and walking away.

Elena turned back to look at Stefan, before turning to follow Damon.

_Stefan woke up with a start, gasping. He tore open his shirt and looked down, expecting to see a bullet wound but only saw smooth flesh. He caught sight of a large ring on his finger and began inspecting it._

"_Katherine had me make that for you weeks ago."_

_Stefan looked up to see Emily, Katherine's hand maid._

"_Where am I?" He questioned, looking around at the landscape surrounding him._

"_At the quarry, just north of town. My brother and I brought you here last night. We found you dead in the woods." Emily informed him._

"_Where's Damon?" Stefan asked._

_The witch looked past Stefan towards the water lying in the background. Stefan turned around to see his brother sitting there, staring intently at the river that was before him._

_Stefan turned back to Emily._

"_Am I- am I-" He couldn't bring himself to say the word._

"_Not yet." Emily answered, "You're in transition."_

"_But how? I-"_

"_You had Katherine's blood in your system when you died."_

"_No, I never-" Stefan adamantly denied, shaking his head furiously._

"_She's been compelling you to drink it for weeks Stefan." Emily told him with a sorrowful look._

"_And Damon?"_

"_No compulsion was necessary. He drank from her willingly."_

_Stefan stood up and made his way out to his brother by the water's edge._

"_I woke up last night. I didn't know where I was." Damon started, his gaze not turning to meet his brother's. "I went to the church. And I watched them drag her inside. They set fire to it. And the whole church went up into flames."_

_Damon's voice became heavy, his throat tightening, he was trying to hold back tears. He turned to Stefan halfway._

"_They killed her, Stefan. She's gone." _

…

Damon walked into the living room to find Charlotte still lying back on the couch. He noticed she was playing with something between her fingers.

"What is this?" She asked confused holding up the 'supposed' vampire compass.

"Pearl dropped it off; she thought it was the vampire compass." Damon informed her walking forward and lifting feet, dropping them on his lap once he was sitting.

"I've missed out on a lot!" Charlotte grumbled, handing it over to him.

Elena came into the living room and watched as Damon examined the object.

"Did you ever figure out what that is?" She asked.

Damon shook his head.

"Nope. Whatever it is, it doesn't work."

"So Pearl didn't say anything else? She didn't tell you what it does?" The hazel eyed girl questioned.

"Like I said, she thought she was stealing the vampire compass, but that was a pocket watch." He started. "That Jonathan Gilbert was a crazy scientist. Have you spoken to your uncle lately?"

He looked at both sisters with raised brows.

"Don't look at me. I haven't been in the land of the living for…I don't even know how long."

"A week."

Charlotte shot up.

"A week! I've missed a week of school?" Her eyes flickered back and forth between her sister and friend. "Jenna isn't just going to kill me; she's going to torture me before she finishes the job."

"Don't worry, I covered for you, I told her you were staying at Care's and Alaric covered for school." Elena said calming her down before turning her gaze to Damon. "And no, I haven't. I've been avoiding him actually. That, and I've been staying here most nights."

"So, you'll be here again tonight?" Damon questioned.

"Is that a problem?" Elena reiterated.

"Yes. You're a complete nuisance."

"Heh." Elena laughed sarcastically. "Charlie will be coming back with me."

Charlotte looked at her sister with a puzzled expression.

"Am I?" Elena nodded her head. "In case you've forgotten, there's a vampire in the basement who wants my blood!"

Elena gave Charlotte a hard stare.

"He's locked up. And he's not going to hurt you again. Stefan wouldn't do that."

The younger girl turned her head back to Damon and the two shared a knowing look.

"See you later." She grumbled rising to her feet and allowing Elena to drag her from the boarding house.

…

Elena and Charlotte made their way up the porch steps of the Gilbert house. The latter was tip toeing.

Elena turned to give her sister a 'what are you doing' look.

"You may have covered for me. But that doesn't help me escape the wrath of Jenna when I haven't _called_ to check in. _**You**_ may not value my well being; but_** I**_ do."

Charlotte swung open the front door and she peeked in. Once she saw that the coast was clear, she booked it up the stairs and Elena had to stifle a laugh when she tripped and landed on her face.

She let out a huff, picking herself up off the stairs and throwing a glare to her older sister over her shoulder before continuing up the rest of the way and into her bedroom, grabbing a bag to put some clothes and other needed necessities into.

When she had gathered everything she needed for a few nights, she walked from her bedroom and towards Elena's tossing her bag through the door and onto the floor before she entered.

"Are you ready to leave?" Charlotte asked, but her eyes widened when she saw who was in the room with her sister. "Actually, I don't think I'm quite ready yet. I'll leave you two alone."

She started stepping back and out of the room when John's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"You stay right where you are." He demanded turning around to face her. "Where have you been?"

"Caroline's," She automatically answered.

John gave her a look as if to ask her if she thought he was an idiot.

"Really, that's where you've been all week? Because I talked to Liz and she said she hasn't seen you."

Charlotte stifled an awkward, nervous laugh. She really didn't care what John thought, but she did care about what Jenna did; and she would already be in enough trouble when her aunt got a hold of her.

"You know how Sheriff Forbes is." She told him shrugging her shoulders. "_Sooo_ forgetful that one."

She looked over John's shoulder and her eyes connected with Elena's.

'_Save me!_' she thought in her head, as if Elena would be able to hear her.

"Uncle John," Elena started. "Is there something you needed?"

"Just thought we could have a little chat." He told the sisters. "We haven't had a chance to catch up."

"Well, I don't really want to catch up with you." "We were actually just heading out, so…" Charlotte and Elena said at the same time.

John tossed a hard look in Charlotte's direction.

"Well it won't take long."

Charlotte pointed to her wrist, telling Elena to hurry up.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked him.

"Well…I know that you girls know."

"Can we please stop starting our sentences with '_well_'." Charlotte groaned. "It's really starting to get annoying."

"Know what?" Elena questioned.

A smirk came to his lips.

"It's really silly to keep pretending. What do you think your mother would say? If she knew you were dating a vampire?" John started. "Especially one that has a habit of attacking your sister."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the charades Charlie, I know about everything."

That shut the hazel eyed girl right up.

He turned his gaze back to Elena, an eyebrow quirked.

"Which mother?"

Elena grabbed her bag and walked from her room, leaving Charlotte to stare at John awkwardly.

"Yeaaaa, I'm just gonna go now."

…

Stefan was sitting on the dirty stone floor of the cell he was locked in; his back leaning against the wall.

_Stefan was carrying a pail of water over to where Damon was sitting. Once he set it down, the two brothers proceeded to wash the blood from their shirts._

"_I bet Jonathan Gilbert has told father by now." Stefan started. "Wonder how he took the news that we're dead."_

_Damon scoffed, cutting in._

"_As if he cares. He betrayed us."_

"_He thought he was protecting us, Damon. He thought he was protecting this town."_

_Damon swiftly changed the subject, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the blazing sun._

"_God. This sun hurts my eyes."_

"_It's part of it. Muscle aches, sick feeling... Emily says it's our bodies pushing us to feed." Stefan informed his brother, "To complete the transition."_

"_That's not going to happen."_

"_Is that your choice then? To die instead?" Stefan questioned furiously with furrowed brows._

"_Isn't it yours?" Damon asked, "This was all to be with Katherine. And she's gone, I want it over."_

_Damon didn't want to live another minute without the love of his life._

Charlotte was lying across Damon as they lounged on the couch waiting for Elena to return from the basement.

"Will you stop picking your nose," Damon grumbled. "Your gonna get boogers all over my shirt."

Charlotte glared at him.

"I'm not picking my nose, I'm scratching it." She corrected.

Damon let out a chuckle.

"Your finger is up there. That's picking."

"Whatever." She huffed, removing her finger and wiping it across Damon's shirt, giving him a sly smile. "So what exactly are we doing with Alaric?"

She rested her chin on her hands that were folded on Damon's chest.

"We're going on an adventure. You like adventures, don't you?" He asked staring down his nose at her.

"Depends." She started, getting her thinking face on. "Is this adventure going to get me hurt? Because that kind of happens with **all** of our little adventures."

"No one is going to hurt you." Damon told her, looking over her shoulder, seeing Elena.

"He won't drink." Elena stated. "He said he doesn't want to survive. That he just wants it to be over."

"He's just being dramatic. He's not going to starve himself." Damon informed her.

"Why would he say that?" Elena asked desperately.

Charlotte just laid her head down, playing with a piece of fuzz on Damon's shirt; all this Stefan drama was making her head spin.

"He feels bad about hurting Charlie." Damon reasoned, "Typical Stefan martyr stuff. It will pass."

"Will it? Because he seemed to be in a lot of pain." Elena argued, practically crying out.

"Yeah. Well, that will pass, too, once he eats." Damon shrugged, moving Charlotte off of him so he could stand.

"I didn't mean physical pain."

"Look are you going to be okay here? If Charlie and I run out? We have to go on an errand with a teacher." Damon asked Elena softly.

"I thought you said it was an adventure!"

"What teacher? Alaric?" Elena asked Damon, "What, are you two friends now?"

"I don't have any friends Elena." Damon said emotionlessly.

After that comment he received a raised eyebrow from Charlotte.

"_Besides _your sister."

Charlotte stood from the couch and Damon looked at her attire.

"Aren't you going to change?"

The chestnut haired girl looked down at what she was wearing before looking back up at Damon.

"What's wrong with it?"

Damon just rolled his eyes, turning to Elena.

"You should, um, you should stay up here; you shouldn't go down there by yourself."

"I'll be fine." Elena told him.

"You know. You're very trusting with him. Considering the circumstances."

"So are you. Otherwise you wouldn't be leaving." Elena snapped back.

Charlotte growled and made a claw like motion with her hand before hissing. Hoping it would ease the tention.

Damon shook his head at her, grabbing her arm.

"We won't be long." He threw over his shoulder at Elena, leading the rambunctious teen girl out the door.

…

"So what are we doing here again?" Charlotte asked, as the trio pulled up in front of an elegant house.

"John's been getting calls. It was traced back to this address." Damon informed her.

"Oh."

"This is where it get's tricky." Damon said as they walked up to the door, "I may or may not be able to get in. Charlie, you're staying with me no matter what."

"So were just going to send Alaric into the lion's den by himself? How fair is that?" She asked outraged.

"I can't protect you Charlotte."

When Damon used her full name, she knew he was serious.

"But I can protect myself."

"You don't know how to control it. Remember? It just happens."

"Damon's right." Alaric agreed, before putting more authority into his voice. "If he can't get in, you don't go in. Do you understand?"

Charlotte nodded her head and grabbed Damon's hand, gripping it tightly.

"Ready?" She questioned the two men before her. They only nodded.

"So how does this work?" Alaric started. "Do you always have to be invited in?"

"By the owner or the person of entitlement. Short term rentals and hotels are a bit of a gray area. You kind of have to play it by ear." Damon replied.

Both humans snorted.

"Can we not kill anyone tonight, please?" Alaric asked Damon as he gripped the door knob leading inside the house.

"You mean, you just brought me along for my company?" Damon asked sarcastically.

"I thought that's why I'm here." Charlotte pondered.

Damon chuckled patting her cheek, making the teenage girl narrow her eyes at him.

Damon let go of her hand and grabbed the door knob, pushing open the door and peeking inside.

It was dark.

Charlotte motioned her hand for Alaric to move forward.

"After you, Alaric."

"Doesn't look like anyone's home."

"Obviously," She grumbled.

Damon stepped through the doorway without a problem.

"Yeah I'm good." He spoke, turning back to Charlotte and grabbing her hand, pulling her in behind him.

"So that means that there's no _living_ resident. Right?" Charlotte questioned, looking unsure.

"Apparently." Damon answered, looking around the rooms.

Damon dragged her forward to the refrigerator, stifling through it and finding blood bags.

He turned back around, pulling Charlotte close to him tightly.

"Uh, Rick, we have company."

A vampire came up behind Alaric and pounced on him, but the history teacher acted swiftly and stabbed him with wooden knuckles. Just as Charlotte saw the vampire go to attack Alaric again, her mind heated up, her eyes flashed gold and the vampire was on the ground writhing in pain, giving Damon the chance to control him.

"Alright, that's enough." Damon scolded.

Alaric stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on Charlotte's shoulder and snapping her from her trance.

"You really need to learn to control that thing." Damon told her.

"Well, Mr. Know It All, let me practice my control on you until we find out what this is!"

Damon gave her a hard look before turning back to the vampire.

"I know you."

"Damon?" The rogue vampire muttered, standing to his feet.

"Your name's Henry, you were in the tomb."

"Yes sir." Henry said looking around the room.

"Aww, and he's a polite vampire!" Charlotte cooed.

Henry looked at her, sniffing the air, causing Charlotte's eyes to widen and for her to step into Alaric's side and grip his hand.

The vampire turned his attention back to Damon.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

…

Back in the cellar of the Salvatore Boarding house, Stefan was having more flashbacks to 1864.

_Stefan stood in front of his old house, tilting his head as he listened in on his father's conversation._

"_May I offer you a drink, Mr. Gilbert?" Giuseppe Salvatore asked._

"_Thank you Mr. Salvatore." Jonathan Gilbert responded._

"_This won't take much longer."_

_Stefan pursued closer to his home._

"_I want to make sure the founder's archives are accurate." Jonathan informed the older man as he wrote in his journal. _

"_Be sure you document the civilian life lost." Giuseppe told him, nodding his head._

"_They were hardly civilians, Mr. Salvatore." _

"_As far as anyone needs to know, they were. As the record keeper for the council, what you write will be passed down for generations. Certain details should be kept only between you and me."_

"_For example?" Jonathan pressed._

"_My sons. They will be remembered as the innocent victims of the Battle of Willow Creek, not for their shame." The older man spat out like the words were poison on his lips._

"_Certainly, Mr. Salvatore."_

…

Henry was now pouring drinks for himself and Damon.

"So, how do you know John Gilbert?" Henry asked.

"Oh, I've known him for years he's a good friend." Damon told him. "He's also this pretty girl's uncle."

"Damon!" Charlotte hissed, glaring at her friend.

"Uncle?" Henry questioned, "You're a Gilbert?"

"Yes I am. But not by blood. So there really is _no_ relation between me and the devil. So how do _you_ know John?"

"I met him after I got out of the tomb. He's been helping me out."

"Helping you out how?" Alaric asked finally speaking up.

"Adapting. It's a whole new world…Cars, computers, . There's so much to learn. He helped me get this place."

"So you live here alone?" Charlotte pondered.

"Or is there someone else here?"

Alaric finished her question.

"My friend's very…passive aggressive way of asking, uh, do you know a woman named Isobel?" Damon asked, trying to cover up Alaric's suspiciousness.

"Uh, no. No, I don't know an Isobel. I know John, he's my only real friend. He really showed me the ropes, how to use a microwave, separate my whites."

"Ohh honey," Charlotte soothed. "He's really not all that great."

"What else do you do for him?" Alaric asked, cutting off the teen.

"You know keep an eye on things…You know, with the others."

"The others?" Charlotte questioned confused.

"From the tomb. They're still pissed at the Founding Family's for trying to burn them alive. I'm cool, but those tomb boys, they want revenge."

"That's just fantastic news." Charlotte mumbled sarcastically.

"What does John want with them?"

"Alaric you really need to stop cutting me off!"

"He's just keeping an eye on them, you know? Trying to make sure they stay out of trouble." Henry said with a shrug, ignoring Charlotte.

"Well that's John for you. Such a do-gooder." "I bet he has an ulterior motive." Damon and Charlotte spoke at the same time.

A phone started to ring.

Henry reached down into the pocket of his jeans and looked at the screen, his lips splitting into a wide grin.

"It's John now."

"Hey why don't we let Charlie talk to him." Damon said, stealing the phone from the vampire and handing it to the wide eyed girl.

"Yeah." Henry said smiling.

Charlotte glanced at the phone and then at Damon and Alaric.

"Are you going to answer that?" Henry asked her.

She pressed talk and brought the phone to her ear.

"Hi Uncle John!" She said cheerily, but it slowly faded when she saw the looks on her two companions' faces.

She brought the phone from her ear and pressed end.

"I wasn't supposed to **actually** answer that. Was I?" She muttered with pursed lips.

She laughed awkwardly, clearing her throat.

"Whoopsy daisy."

"What's going on?" Henry asked glancing around at the people before him.

Charlotte closed her eyes, remorse filling her. She knew what was going to happen next.

She could hear the commotion around her and opened her eyes once it stopped; she looked down to see Henry, gray and desiccated.

"What the hell happened to 'Let's not kill anyone tonight'." She mocked, quoting Alaric from earlier.

"His words just pointing that out." Damon said, patting Alaric's shoulder, walking past him.

Alaric turned to Charlotte, a wide smile playing on his face.

"HI UNCLE JOHN!" He mocked and Charlotte broke into a fit of giggles at his expression before she turned serious, watching as the men started looking around the house.

"How the hell am I supposed to explain that one?"

Both of the men shrugged.

"Well guess what Damon?" She started.

"What?"

"You're getting a semi-permanent bed partner! Because I'm _not_ going home until John leaves!"

"Joy!" Damon muttered sarcastically.

…

Stefan was listening to Elena beg and plead, his mind wandering back to when he completed his transition into a vampire.

_Giuseppe Salvatore sat in his study writing in his journal. _

_Stefan stood in the doorway watching him._

_The old man finally glanced up, gasping as he caught sight of his son. _

"_Dear God." Giuseppe whispered to himself, as he stared at his son that was supposed to be dead._

"_Even in our death, you only feel shame." Stefan said with a calm voice. _

"_You're one of them now."_

"_No." Stefan said with a shake of his head, "I came to say goodbye."_

_Stefan stepped into the room and towards his father._

"_I watched you die." _

"_You were there when we were shot?" Stefan asked bewildered._

"_I pulled the trigger myself." _

"_You killed your own sons?" He spat._

_He couldn't believe it._

"_You were both dead to me the moment you sided with the vampires. I only thank god that your mother isn't here to see the disgrace you've become."_

"_I haven't turned yet, I don't want to. I'm going to let myself die, father. Please." Stefan pleaded._

_"Yes you are." Giuseppe growled pulling out a stake and running towards Stefan, aiming it at his son's heart. Stefan's senses were on high alert and he acted quickly, using his new found strength to throw his father across the room, making him hit a wall and land on the floor with a groan._

_Stefan's eyes widened at the scene before him. The stake that his father was going to kill him with was now lodged just below the man's heart._

"_No! Oh god! Father!" Stefan yelled, rushing to his side. _

"_Get away from me!" Giuseppe yelled in a hoarse voice._

"_Let me help you please." Stefan replied as his hands grasped the stake, and he gave a hard yank._

_It was covered in blood, and it put Stefan in a trance. The smell was becoming more tempting and irresistible. He could hear his father's heart beat pounding in his head, the blood rushing through his veins. _

_Stefan looked down at his fingers covered in the red liquid. He brought them to his lips and licked off the substance, groaning in pleasure at the taste, eyes rolling to the back of his head._

_Once his fingers were clean, he knew he needed more. He turned his gaze to his father; he moved his hand to Giuseppe's wound, coating his fingers in more blood and brought his hand back to his mouth, licking it off._

_His eyes were changing. His gums were aching as his fangs pushed through. _

_Stefan gasped, his hands flying up to touch his new canines._

"_Oh, God! What's happening to me?" Stefan asked aloud._

…

Charlotte rolled her eyes at Damon as he started draining another blood bag.

"Have you found anything yet?" He asked her and Alaric in a bored tone.

"Why don't you get off your ass and help!" Charlotte exclaimed.

Alaric just shook his head.

"No, I looked everywhere. This place is...The place is clean."

"Well, I found this." Damon said, throwing a beer to the history teacher. "Behind the blood in the fridge."

"Oh, man, this was a real dead-end." Alaric said with a sigh. He was talking more to himself than the two people before him.

"I wouldn't beat myself up over it, man. What did you think you were gonna find, huh? Isobel with a cigar and slippers?"

Charlotte sent Damon an unbelieved look and a glare.

"Can you be _any_ more sensitive!"

Alaric chuckled.

"Oh, man. I...I got to stop this. I can't... I can't keep searching for her."

Charlotte gave him a sympathetic smile.

"If you care this much about her Rick, you can't give up." She told him.

"Listen to the hopeless romantic over there. I mean really? After only 2 years? That's actually...Moderately healthy." Damon smirked.

Charlotte gave him a hard stare.

"Oh, really Damon; like you have _any_ room to talk!"

"I know. What are you going on? 146?" Alaric asked with a snicker, talking about Damon's search for Katherine.

"Well, I figure the 200 mark is probably a good stopping point." Damon shrugged sarcastically.

"Ahh, I mean, no answer is enough. I keep thinking I want to know why, when, you know, the precise moment when my wife decided life with me wasn't enough." Alaric sighed.

Charlotte couldn't imagine going through the type of pain; loving someone so much, and then in a moment they're just gone. And you have no idea where they've gone, or why.

"She charmed me, your wife Isobel." Damon started "She talked a good game, man. She was smart. She had this excitement in her eyes. I probably should have known there was something different about her, some tie to and Katherine. There had to be some reason I didn't kill her..."

"That's enough Damon!" The teenage girl growled. "You act like he wants to hear this stuff!"

"You're right. I don't want to hear anymore. I just don't want to waste any more of my life searching for answers that I really don't want. I'm through with Isobel. I'm done with all this." Alaric agreed, getting up and walking out of the house.

Once he was out of hearing range Charlotte stood up and stalked over to Damon.

"Why would you just throw that information in his face?" She scolded. "You know what it's like to lose someone you love Damon! To have them walk out on you and never look back. You should try to be a little more sensitive!"

…

Damon and Charlotte arrived back at the boarding house, walking into the living room to find Elena writing frivolously in her diary.

Charlotte walked over and plopped her body down onto a chair, folding her legs beneath her.

"You're still here?" Damon asked in an annoyed tone.

"Were you expecting anything else?" Elena questioned with a roll of her eyes.

Damon walked over to where Elena was sitting on the couch, lifted her legs and sat down, allowing them to drop over his lap.

"Nope."

"So..." Elena started, looking between her sister and the vampire. "How was the 'errand'?"

"Well let's see…how many words can you come up with that mean the same as pointless?" Charlotte mumbled. "I know, I know…useless…futile…inane…"

"Okay, we get it!" Damon cut her off. "It was really pointless. Although, I think we witnessed the teacher having an existential crisis. Has Stefan eaten yet?"

Charlotte looked at her older sister expectantly.

"I thought you didn't care?" Elena asked mockingly.

"Chalk it up to morbid curiosity."

"Stop being an ass Damon."

Elena gave them both a look to silence their bickering.

"I think he's getting there." Elena admitted with a terse nod. "But he's got a lot of guilt that he has to deal with. And it doesn't help with you punishing him for the last 145 years because of Katherine getting caught."

"Elena! Don't turn around and make this Damon's fault. I think we've all noticed by now that Stefan isn't little Mr. Perfect!" Charlotte hissed.

"It's no one's fault." Elena snapped. "But I'm just…saying that he isn't exactly innocent."

Elena turned back to face Damon who was giving her a look of bafflement.

"You've made it your life's mission to make him miserable." Elena scolded.

Charlotte snorted. Leave it to Elena to blame everyone else for other peoples' problems. She always does that.

"You do realize that you've only gotten Stefan's side of the story. Right?" The younger Gilbert girl chastised.

Damon looked betrayed. And Charlotte knew why.

The vampire jumped up from the couch, glaring at Elena.

"Let me ask you a question. In all of this important soul searching and the cleansing of the demons in Stefan's past, did you ever manage to get the rest of the story?"

"He said there was more." Elena said cautiously.

"Yeah." Damon snapped with blazing eyes. "That's an under statement."

Elena went to get up but Charlotte shook her head, getting up herself and stepping over to Damon, giving him a loving look.

"What happened in 1864 Damon?" Charlotte inquired with a soothing voice. "You tell us _your_ side of the story."

Damon looked over at Elena before turning his gaze back to Charlotte, looking down and meeting her hazel orbs. Seeing no judgment in them, he nodded, and began to tell the sisters his story.

_Damon was sitting by the river, he could feel death inching closer. Soon, he would be with Katherine again._

_He turned his head when he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Blue eyes widened when he saw Stefan approaching with a young girl._

"_What are you doing?" Damon exclaimed. "Who is that?"_

"_I brought her for you. She's a gift." Stefan told his brother with a smirk, before turning and looking into the girl's eyes, compelling her. "Have a seat, please."_

_The girl did as she was told and sat down next to Damon, a far off look in her eyes._

_Damon glanced back and forth at his brother and the compelled girl._

"_What have you done, Stefan?"_

"_Damon. I went to see father. He came at me. I didn't know my own strength. There was blood everywhere. He was dying, and the blood was too strong. I needed it. I__had__to have it."_

"_You fed." Damon stated shocked._

"_Yes. And it's incredible." Stefan enthusiastically raved, "My body is exploding with power Damon." _

_Damon just kept mumbling the word 'no' as Stefan kept talking exuberantly. _

"_I can hear things from far away. I can see through the darkness. I can move, like it's magic, and the guilt, the pain…I can turn it off. Like a switch. Katherine was right. It's a whole other world out there, Damon."_

_The older brother slowly rose to his feet unsteadily._

"_Katherine is dead Stefan. There's no world without her." Damon informed his brother, staggering away._

"_No! You can turn that off, too!" Stefan exclaimed, grabbing Damon's face so that he would look at him. "You don't have to feel the pain anymore!"_

"_I don't want it." Damon growled out, breaking free of his brother's grip._

"_Your weak, you'll be dead soon. You'll be dead soon. You need this."_

"_No." Damon whispered. "I can't."_

_Stefan then turned to the girl and had her stand up, next to him. Stefan's canines grew as he flashed them at Damon before smiling. His fangs came through his gums and Stefan sunk his fangs into her neck. _

_After a moment, he pulled away and looked to his brother, blood staining his lips._

_Damon's eyes landed on the blood flowing from the girl's neck._

"_I won't let you die." Stefan whispered as he grabbed his brother and brought his face to the bleeding wound._

"_No." Damon said thrashing slightly. "I can't."_

"_Don't fight it." Stefan told his brother, "We can do this...__together__."_

_Damon's face was right by the young girl's neck, the tantalizing smell of her blood wafting up his nostrils. His gums began to ache, as he inched closer to her neck. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest._

_Stefan was growing impatient and pushed Damon so that his mouth was touching the red liquid._

_He couldn't resist anymore._

_Damon's mouth latched onto her neck, taking in large gulps of blood. He relished in the feeling of the sweet liquid gliding down his throat. _

_Damon pulled away for just a moment, his canines elongating before he tore into the girl's neck once again. _

_He had given in._

Charlotte looked up at Damon with glossy eyes.

"He forced you to turn?" She asked rhetorically, voice thick with disbelief.

"From the moment Stefan had his first taste of human blood, he was a different person." Damon explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "I suppose I should thank him. It's been a hell of a ride."

"Oh my god. He said he wanted to die. That's why he won't feed. Now I understand why, but…" Elena exclaimed, finally putting together the pieces that made up the Salvatore brothers' past.

"His choice. Stupid enough to make it."

"Don't do that." Elena scolded. "Okay? Don't pretend like you don't care."

The older girl got up and fled to the basement.

Charlotte looked up at Damon from where she was sitting.

"I'm so sorry; he shouldn't have taken that choice away from you."

Damon just gazed at her, an unreadable look in his eyes.

Elena came running back into the living room before he could say anything.

They turned to see her holding Stefan's ring before she cried out.

"Stefan's gone! And he doesn't have his ring!"

Charlotte sat for a moment before she perked up.

"I know where he is." She exclaimed. "I'll be right back."

She walked up to her sister and grabbed the gaudy ring from her hand, walking down the hall and out the front door.

…

Stefan was back at the quarry where he had forced his brother to turn. He couldn't get his mind off of what he had done.

"_How do you feel?" Stefan asked Damon with a smile._

"_You were right. It is a whole new world." Damon responded as he looked around with amused eyes, he was intrigued._

"_We can explore it together."_

"_You got what you wanted…" Damon said without any emotions, "You and me for all of eternity. But hear this brother."_

_Damon then stalked towards his brother._

"_I will make it an eternity of__misery__for you."_

"_Damon!" Stefan called out as his older brother stormed away._

…

_Emily Bennett stood behind Stefan Salvatore; a look of disappointment on her face. _

"_You've transitioned." She spoke causing Stefan to turn around._

"_You'd have rather of found me dead?" Stefan asked._

"_Katherine saved my life once." Emily told Stefan, "I owed her. That doesn't mean I'd wish her curse on anyone."_

_Stefan didn't feel that way._

"_It feels more like a gift."_

"_That will change." Emily whispered with a shake of her head._

"_Why is that?" _

"_Because even in death, your heart is pure Stefan. I sense that about you. That will be your curse."_

_Emily turned to walk away._

"_Emily, wait!"_

…

Charlotte was right. Stefan was where she had suspected him to be.

"Stefan." Charlotte called out to the vampire who was looking out over the quarry. "Damon told me rest of the story. I thought I might find you here."

"I should have died that night, just like I had chosen. I should have let Damon die, too." Stefan told her.

Charlotte could see the distraught look on his face.

"But you didn't. And if you die now, it's not going to change what happened."

"Every single person that's been hurt...Every single life that's been lost, it's because of me." He told her.

"You know the night that mine and Elena's parents died, we blew off family night so that we could go to some party. Elena got into an argument with Matt and he was our ride home and that left us stranded." She told him, starting to get teary eyed. "We had to call our parents to come and pick us up. That's why we ended up in the car at Wickery bridge. That's why they died. Our actions are what set things in motion. But we have to live with that."

She hoped that she could get through to Stefan. Not only for her sister, but for Damon. As much as the blue eyed vampire claimed to not care about his brother, Stefan was all he had left.

"I made a choice, Charlie. Because of that choice, a lot of people were hurt..._you_ were hurt." He looked back at her torn.

Charlotte took a step towards him. She wasn't scared anymore.

"You also made a choice to stop, to reject the person that the blood made you. You made a choice to be good, Stefan."

"No. Please don't do that." He pleaded.

"That's the person that jumped in the water to save the family whose car had drive off the bridge."

"Please. Don't make this okay." Stefan whispered to her, begging.

"That's the person who saved mine and my sister's lives." She cooed, stepping closer.

"You don't understand, Charlie." Stefan told her, his voice raising a few octaves.

"Then tell me. Make me understand." She all but growled out.

She wasn't giving up on him, she just couldn't.

"It hurts me. It hurts me knowing what I've done, and that pain... That pain is with me all the time. And everyday, I think that if I just... If I just give myself over to the blood, I can make that pain stop. It would be that easy, and everyday, I fight that. And I am so terrified that one day, I'm not going to want to fight that anymore, Charlie. Last time I hurt someone it was_ you_, next time it could be Elena, I couldn't live with myself..." Stefan was close to tears.

"There will be no next time." She tried to reassure him.

"You don't know that." Stefan told her. "Why do you keep trying to save me!"

"You once asked me that about Damon. And I don't know why. Maybe I care too much or maybe I'm still trying to find a purpose in my life. And maybe that purpose starts with you. Saving you, being there, and being _**here**_. Maybe this was all meant to be." Charlotte explained. "But you're right, Stefan, I don't know that there won't be a next time. I can't promise that you won't hurt me again. Or that you won't hurt my sister. But I do know that I'll be there."

Stefan looked at her with unshed tears.

Charlotte stepped up until she was right in front of him.

"And I know that you can take this…" She took his hand and placed his daylight ring in the palm of it. "And throw it in the quarry and let the sun rise. That you can just give up. Or, you can put this ring on and keep fighting."

She gave him a watery smile and leaned up, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

"It's your choice."

Charlotte stepped back and turned, walking away to leave Stefan to make his decision.

"Charlotte!" Stefan called, causing the girl to turn and watch as the vampire put his ring back on, running over to her and pulling her into his arms tightly.

He burrowed his face into her thick locks of hair, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Thank you."

…

Elena was sitting with Damon in the living room of the boarding house, shaking like a leaf from the anxiety she was feeling.

She quickly rose to her feet as she heard the front door shut and the pitter patter of feet coming down the hall. Her hope was growing and she let out a sigh of relief when Charlotte rounded the corner, Stefan coming up behind her.

Elena rushed forward and threw her arms around her boyfriend, pressing a hard kiss to his lips.

"Little boy lost." Damon proclaimed monotonously.

"I'll be upstairs." Elena informed them and left.

Charlotte looked at Damon and then back at Stefan.

"I'll give you guys a minute." She made her way towards the stairs, but stopped.

Eavesdropping was her worst quality.

"Thank you." She heard Stefan say.

"No, Stefan, thank you. You're back on Bambi blood, and I'm the big badass brother again. All is right in the world." Damon told his brother.

"I mean it. Thank you. For...helping the girls take care of me." Stefan nodded.

"You brood too much. Everything on this planet is not your fault. My actions, what I do, it's not your fault. I own them. They belong to me. You are not allowed to feel my guilt." Damon stated firmly.

"Do you feel guilt?" Stefan questioned.

"If I wanted to, it's there. Emily waited till after I turned to tell me she'd been successful in protecting Katherine with her spell. She didn't want me to know about the tomb. She thought it would impact my decision."

"She didn't want either of us to turn. She said it was a curse." Stefan remembered.

"Witches...Judgy little things." Damon commented.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause' I didn't want you to know. Because I hated you and I still do." Damon replied.

"I know."

"But not because you forced me to turn." He shook his head.

"Then why?" Stefan creased his eye brows.

"Because she turned _you_. It was just supposed to be _me_, Stefan…just me!" Damon whispered.

Charlotte could hear Damon leaving the room and booked it up the stairs, running to his room and hopping on the bed, quickly going under the covers.

Damon pushed open the door to his bedroom, softly closing it behind him.

"You know, if you want to eavesdrop, you might want to be a little quieter about it." He told her chuckling as he prepared for bed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Damon just shook his head.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, patting the space beside her.

He walked forward, and crawled in beside her.

"You've been saying that a lot lately."

"I know…but…I don't know what else to say. I'm not good with words." She muttered.

Damon just gave her a soft smile.

"You don't have to say anything. You just being here is more than enough."

Charlotte lips formed a cheshire grin.

"You totally love me!" She exclaimed.

"Now you're getting wayyy ahead of yourself."

"It's okay. I won't tell anyone." Charlotte teased, moving closer to lay her head on Damon's shoulder.

A few moments of silence past before Charlotte started to speak again. She had to get something off her mind; something that she spoke to Stefan about earlier.

"Are you asleep?" She whispered.

Damon made a noise to signal that he wasn't and for her to continue.

"Do you think that love continues on after you die?"

Damon's eyes snapped open and he turned on his side to face her, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"What?"

"Just humor me for a second, okay?"

He nodded and she continued.

"In ancient Greek myths, they believed that people were born out of Eros. You know, the Greek god of love? Well, apparently he was known for sexual desire too. He was said to be the son of Aphrodite and that he formed love bonds between mortals and the gods. Which, by the way, was totally _not_ okay with all the other gods. But anyways that's beside the point."

"Wait," Damon said cutting her off. "Are we talking about Cupid?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "You do know your stuff."

Damon chuckled at her expression.

"Okay so this myth said that out of Chaos, Eros, or Cupid, whatever you want to call him, was born. From this love he held, came sex, and from that came everything else. The myth said that love was the driving force behind **all** creation. The sky, the mountains, the oceans, trees, you name it. And then eventually, it brought forth humans. Us."

Damon was entranced by her excitement.

"So if you think about it…sex, the act of bringing a child into this world is divine. It's practically god-like. Love is what brought us all into this world, and humans are what kept the cycle going, by falling in love, and, and, reproducing, and living out our lives and dying. Those children would repeat the process and never break the cycle. It would forever remain unbroken."

He could only stare at her.

"Love, Damon. It's magical, it's a divine power. We were born from love, all of us; so maybe that means it's always a part of us."

Charlotte was getting so into her little speech that her eyes started to water, and when a tear trickled down her cheek, Damon wiped it away. He couldn't think of any words to say to her.

"Do you ever think or ever wonder about if you had a past life. That you were reborn again for a purpose? Maybe I was in love in a past life; maybe I was reborn with the sole purpose of finding him again and continuing that love. Maybe I've been part of something that's been spanning hundreds of years. And that loves been with me until now."

She looked like she was thinking for a moment.

"Or maybe I'm just going crazy. Maybe I'm just scared of always being alone." She muttered.

Damon shook his head fiercely, bringing his hands up to cup her cheeks, gazing into her glistening eyes.

"You're not Charlotte. Don't ever say that. _This_, this hopeless romantic, this always trying to find a purpose for life, this, this is you. It's the _**best**_ part of you. Don't you _ever_ let anyone take that away from you."

Charlotte nodded her head and gave him a watery smile.

"You won't hurt anymore. Soon, Damon. You'll find that person for you. And you'll be everything she's ever wanted."

Damon gave her a soft smile, pulling her into his arms and kissing her forehead.

"And you say you don't have a way with words. Besides, I've got you, what else could I possibly need."

* * *

**A/N:**

**[polyvore.]com/cgi/set?id=52702330**

So I figured out how to put the link in the story so that you guys (for those of you who do look at the outfits) don't have to go back and forth to my profile. Just remove the brackets! :)

Sorry for any errors.

Okay so this is the **_longest_** chapter I have _ever_ written! I think you deserve it seeing as it keeps taking me so long to update! Two more chapters till we move onto season 2! Hope you guys enjoy it!

I love sappy Damon/Charlie moments. I hope you do too!

And does anyone know how old Niklaus is supposed to be? Not in vampire years cause I know that's over a thousand but I'm guessing like mid to late 20's, yeah? The dream is just where their relationship began and shows how it started. In all the other dreams she's older. I kinda just realized that the age difference is kind of yucky but I know back in the 10th century, girls were married off young so and teenagers were treated as if they were adults…if anyone is put off by this just let me know and I'll change it.

**Review! Review! Review!**


	20. Chapter 19: Isobel

**Chapter 19: Isobel**

Charlotte was listening to Elena's conversation with Damon. And even though she could only hear one side, she was beginning to get frustrated with Elena.

When her sister finally hung up the phone, Charlotte made her presence known.

"I know you mean well and everything, but you need to let Damon know that his feelings for you are one sided before you drag him in any deeper."

Elena gave her sister a confused look.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She stuttered.

Charlotte raised one of her perfectly manicured brows.

"Yes you do. Damon feels something for you and you just sit there and act like you don't see anything."

Before Elena could protest, the younger Gilbert cut her off.

"You're not an idiot Elena, so stop pretending like you are. It doesn't suit you very well."

Charlotte turned from Elena, leaving her sister with a dumbfounded look.

She was going to the Salvatore boarding house; Damon said that he would help her _practice_. Well he didn't say he would help her, he just said that she needed to and Charlotte decided to volunteer him for the job.

[]

She arrived at the boarding house, walking inside and calling for Damon.

"Hello!" She yelled.

Charlotte smiled widely when Damon rounded the corner.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have a float to build?"

The hazel eyed girl shook her head widely.

"I want you to help me control it!" She exclaimed. "You said I need to practice and I'm going to."

Damon nodded his head and motioned for her to continue.

"On you."

He looked at Charlotte as if she were crazy.

"Not on me you're not!"

Her eyes got wide and she poked her bottom lip out.

"Damon! Puhlease!"

Damon continued to look at her and he could feel himself cracking.

[]

"Ughhh!" Charlotte groaned.

They had been trying for almost an hour and nothing happened.

"Concentrate!" Damon demanded.

"I am! What do you think I'm doing, just standing here lolly gagging around?"

She threw herself down onto the couch.

"Nothing's happening!"

"How do you feel?" Damon questioned.

Charlotte gave him a pointed look.

"Bored. I think the expression is pretty clear on my face."

"No, how do you feel before _it_ happens?"

The only response that Damon got from her was a shrug of her shoulders.

He could see on her face how disappointed she was.

"Every time that it happened, I was scared, or I was trying to protect Elena and Bonnie." She stopped, thinking about all the times this power manifested. "The first time it happened was when Vicki was turned and you attacked me in my house. It was like my survival instincts kicked in or something."

Damon nodded his head, remembering that specific moment.

"Don't look so proud of yourself there buddy." Charlotte grumbled, before looking thwarted. "Do you think we'll ever find out what I am? Or even **who** I am?"

Damon gave her a soft smile and came and sat down next to her, tossing an arm around her shoulder.

"You know who you are Charlie." He told her. "Where you came from, well, we'll figure that out sooner or later. As for what you are; I'm sure that there is someone out there who could give us an answer."

Charlotte gave a gentle nod of her head and Damon pulled her to her feet.

"It happens out of fear, well let's make it so that you can make it happen without it."

He stepped away from her and went a few feet away.

"What are you feeling, right now?"

Charlotte thought for a second.

"Frustrated, confusion, aggravation…" She quirked a brow. "Should I name a few more?"

"Want it Charlie. Feel for it."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, with every breath she took, every emotion she felt just melted away, until all she felt was content, and free, and at peace.

Her body was heating up, tingles shooting all across her skin.

Damon watched her enthralled with what he was seeing. His mouth watering as her scent became more potent.

Charlotte's fists clenched and unclenched. She could feel the power overcoming her.

Her eyes snapped open and they were a bright, vibrant gold.

The house started to shake and Damon could hear thunder starting to roll outside in the sky.

'_Well this is new.'_ Damon thought to himself and Charlotte nodded.

"Tell me about it." Her eyes clenched shut as a headache was beginning to form and when she reopened them, the gold was slowly dissipating.

Damon looked taken aback.

"Tell you what?" He inquired.

"You said that this was new!" She told him, turning from the light breaking through the window and bringing a hand to rub her temple. "Oh my god! Do you think that I could control the weather! What if I'm not just a one trick pony! What if I can do more than toss people around and make them feel pain!"

'_And she's gone mental!'_

"Damon! I have not!" Charlotte yelled at him.

"I never said anything, Charlie." Damon's eyes were wide. _'She can hear me?'_

Charlotte gave frustrated sigh, turning back to face him.

"Oh course I can hear you dumbass! You're right in front of me!"

'_No Charlie, I mean you can hear me, hear me!'_

Her eyes widened and she looked at Damon in disbelief.

"No, no, no. This is some sick joke!"

'_Obviously it's not.'_

"Damon! Stop!"

Damon gave her an inquisitive look.

"Maybe this is something you can do, we can teach you to control it,"

"I don't want this Damon! I don't want to be able to hear inside people's heads!"

The more Charlotte shouted, the angrier she got, until she couldn't take anymore and she just screamed.

A vase in the corner shattered, pulling her from her tantrum and she looked at it wide eyed.

"Okay, so no mind reading for pretty girl." Damon muttered.

Charlotte looked at Damon with furrowed brows.

"Are you thinking?"

"I think people think all the time Charlotte." Damon told her matter-of-factly.

"No, are you thinking right now?"

Damon nodded his head and a big Cheshire grin spread across her face.

"I can't hear you anymore!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"So you can stop it, you're just not very good at controlling it." Damon thought for a moment. "Try to get inside of my head again. Concentrate."

"But I don't want to be able to read peoples' thoughts." She yelled stomping her feet like a petulant child. "I just keep turning into one giant freakazoid!"

"You're not a freak Charlie." Damon told her softly. "And you can use this to your advantage to find out when someone's lying. Just concentrate. You can control this. I know you can."

Charlotte brought her hands up to rub her eyes and took yet another deep breath.

She looked straight ahead at Damon, their eyes locking as Charlotte tried to get inside his head.

'_Focus Charlie. Can you hear me?'_

Charlotte nodded.

'_Now pull out, okay. Pull yourself out of my mind.'_

She could feel her mind leaving Damon's and once she couldn't hear him anymore, she smiled and ran for him, jumping into his arms.

"I did it!"

Damon gripped her tightly but their celebration was cut short when Damon's phone started ringing.

Charlotte detached herself from him so that he could answer and a minute later, he hung up.

"That was Rick; we've got to get to the school."

"Damon?" She called out to him. "Can…can we…can we keep this whole mind reading thing to ourselves for now?"

Damon nodded reassuringly.

"It can be our little secret."

[]

The duo walked through the school halls until they ended up outside of Alaric's classroom.

"Damon," Alaric started. "Thanks for coming."

"Sorry I'm late," Damon apologized with a smirk. "Dog ate my…never mind."

Charlotte brought her hand up and knocked him on the back of his head.

"And you brought Charlotte." The history teacher muttered.

"Well sorry, I didn't know I wasn't wanted." The said girl grumbled.

No one responded to her comment. They all looked broody and put down.

"What's with the long faces?"

Damon looked around the room and took in everyone's furrowed brows.

"I saw Isobel last night." Alaric told the two in a whisper.

Charlotte was confused for a moment before realization hit her.

"Wait, what!"

"Isobel is here? In town?" Damon finished for her.

Charlotte turned her head, trying to focus on her sister. Maybe this mind reading thing would be a good thing to have in handy after all. She wanted to know what was going through Elena's head right at this moment.

She narrowed her eyes, concentrating but was pulled from it when Damon flicked her in the head.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, rubbing the spot and turning to look at him.

"You said you didn't want to read minds so stop trying to get inside her head." Damon chastised.

She glared at him.

"Way to blow it Damon." She grumbled before she began to mock him. "It will be our little secret."

Elena looked at her with a puzzled expression which Charlotte caught.

"Nothing," The younger Gilbert said, blowing it off with a wave of her hand. "It's not important. Now what's going on?"

"Isobel's here. She came to see me last night." Alaric repeated.

Charlotte went to stand by Elena and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into her side tightly.

"Did you ask her about Uncle John?" Damon fired off. "Are they working together?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"Damon, he just saw his wife who he thought was dead." She told him. "Do you really think he had the time to form questions when all he could probably do was stare?"

"Did you?" Damon asked, turning back to Alaric.

"No." Alaric answered shaking his head.

"No they're not?"

"No. I didn't ask." The history teacher corrected.

And then Damon started shooting off question after question.

"What about the invention?"

"Didn't ask."

"Did she know about the tomb vampires?"

"I don't know."

Damon gave an aggravated sigh.

"Did words completely escape you?"

"Sorry, I was a little distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions!" Alaric slightly shouted at the vampire.

Charlotte gave Damon a look as if to tell him 'I told you so.'

"So what did she even want?" Charlotte asked. "I doubt she just dropped by to give a quick hello."

She looked at Alaric with raised brows, but it wasn't him who answered, it was Elena.

"She wants to see me." The older girl whispered.

Charlotte's eyes widened. She didn't have to read minds to know what her sister was thinking, to know what she was feeling.

"Elena…"

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting." Stefan voiced, cutting Charlotte off. "We don't know why or what she wants."

Damon took a step closer to Elena and Charlotte could only roll her eyes. He just kept falling deeper and deeper.

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to."

Stefan looked at Damon, and then at Charlotte, raising an eyebrow but she only shrugged.

"I don't really have a choice." Elena told him, looking up at him.

Charlotte was confused by this statement.

"What do you mean you don't have a choice? You always have choice."

Damon was glancing around the room at everyone's faces, waiting for someone to answer.

Alaric shook his head and began to explain further.

"She's threatening to go on a killing spree."

Charlotte nodded her head in understanding.

"Oh," Damon said. "And I take it that's not okay with you guys?"

Elena thought for a second before speaking up.

"I want to do it. I want to see her, because if I don't, I know that I'll regret it."

Elena and Damon maintained eye contact and Charlotte guffawed.

"Okay, we get it." She whipped around and gave her sister a hard stare, breaking the stare down between Damon and the oldest Gilbert.

[]

Alaric, Damon, and Charlotte were sitting outside in front of the Mystic Grill. Stefan was inside keeping a lookout over Elena, and Charlotte thought she was going to rip her hair out if Damon complained one more time.

"We should be in there!" Damon growled.

"No."

Alaric nodded in agreement.

"Charlie's right, Isobel made it clear we're not to set foot inside."

"I'm not going to kill her in a crowded restaurant." The vampire huffed out.

"Kill me now!" Charlotte groaned, but she was ignored as the two men kept bickering back and forth.

"You're not going to kill her period!"

"She ruined your life and you still want to protect her!"

Alaric hung his head. He was giving up.

"She my wife." He started, making Damon look at him. "_Was _my wife. I looked for the woman I married but she wasn't there. Whoever that is, she's cold and detached."

Charlotte placed a hand on Alaric's shoulder and squeezed it gently in sympathy.

"She's not human anymore Rick."

"Yeah, she's given up on her humanity." Damon agreed.

"See, I don't get that. Stefan has his humanity, he's a good guy. And you're a dick and you kill people but I still see something human in you. But with her there was…nothing."

The teenage girl laughed when Alaric called Damon a dick, but the look she received from Damon quickly shut her up.

"You can turn it off, like a button you can press." Damon explained to them. "I mean, Stefan's different. He wants the whole human experience. He wants to feel every episode of 'How I Met Your Mother', so he shuts his feelings out. The problem is, as a vampire, your instinct is not to feel. Isobel chose the easier road-no guilt, no shame, no regret. I mean, come on, if you could turn it off, wouldn't you?"

"I wouldn't." Charlotte muttered, causing both men to turn to her. "If you don't feel anything, then all you are is empty. Who would want to live that way? Never feeling anything at all."

Alaric could understand where she was coming from.

"You haven't turned it off." He told Damon.

"Of course I have Rick. It's why I'm so fun to be around." Damon answered with a cocky smirk.

Charlotte gave Damon a soft smile. He was a complete liar. If he flipped the switch, he wouldn't care for her, and he certainly wouldn't care for Elena like he does.

"Well everyone, on a happier note." She turned to face Rick. "Wanna know a secret? You can know because me, you and Damon are like, the three musketeers. Or I have an even better idea! You can be Charlie's Angels! Get it? I'm Charlie and you're my angels!"

Alaric chuckled.

"Well Damon's more like the devil," She muttered as an after thought.

"So what's this secret?"

Charlotte looked at Damon, wondering if she should really tell.

"Okay you can't tell anyone!"

Once Alaric nodded his head, she leaned in close to his ear.

"I can read minds!"

Alaric was speechless and he looked at Damon for confirmation.

"She can."

"We were practicing and I only expected to throw Damon around and stuff but I could hear his thoughts. And I caused it to thunder and even the house shook." She rambled.

"What…what else can you do?" The history teacher asked her.

"We don't know yet." Damon told him, answering for his chestnut haired friend. "We still have to find out."

"So we still have no idea what you are?"

Charlotte's eyes hardened.

"I'm a teenage girl! That's what I am! Stop making me sound like I'm some science research project."

Alaric held his hands up in surrender. This girl could change moods really fast.

"There has to be someone out there who knows."

"It's kind of witchy." Damon started. "You know, the throwing, the pain she inflicts. But I've never heard anything about telepathy. If she concentrates she can break into minds and then pull herself back out. But she needs practice."

"So I'm pretty much a danger to everyone." She stated emotionlessly. "Why can I not be normal!"

"You're not a danger. We just need to figure out what you're capable of and you need to learn to control it." Damon pointed out.

Charlotte didn't hear his anything after that however, because she stood when she saw Bonnie about to enter the Grill. She could barely remember the last time the two of them talked.

"Bonnie!" She called out.

Bonnie turned to look at Charlotte and the latter started to step towards her until Bonnie turned away and walked into the Grill, only to come back out and walk away a minute later.

"Hey," Damon said, putting his hand on her bicep and giving a gentle squeeze. "She'll come around."

Charlotte nodded and put her face into his chest, but Damon pulled away when the door to the Grill opened again and Stefan and Elena walked out. The younger girl could tell Elena had been crying from how red and puffy her eyes were.

"I'm gonna take her home."

Charlotte moved forward to her older sister and grabbed her hand, leading her over to their car.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here. I know I wasn't exactly nice this morning but, no matter what, I'm always here." She murmured once the duo made it home.

"I know," Elena told her, giving a soft smile. "But I want to talk to you about what Damon said earlier. About you trying to get inside my head. What did that mean?"

Charlotte thought about what to say, about how to explain it.

"He told me he'd help me practice and one second I can feel this power, I…I don't know…and then the next I can hear what he was thinking. And I just wish that there was someone out there who can give me some answers. Damon said he's never seen anything like this."

Elena was absorbing every bit of information her sister had given her.

"But I don't want to get into that right now Lena, I'm more concerned about you. I mean, you just met your birth mother and she's not exactly…motherly." Charlotte was contemplating her words.

"She didn't want to know anything about me, she didn't care. All she wanted was Jonathan Gilbert's device."

Charlotte nodded her head.

"Damon told me and Alaric that vampires can shut their emotions off. That it's easier for them to not feel. That's what Isobel did."

Elena reached over and grabbed her younger sister's hand.

"We'll get through this." She whispered, but it sounded like she was trying to reassure herself. "We'll get through this together. Just like we always do."

[]

It was the next morning when a knock on the door resonated through out the Gilbert house. Charlotte who was in the kitchen, got up to answer it.

"Bonnie…" The teenage girl muttered in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi..I…" The witch started, but Elena coming to the door cut her off.

"Charlie, who's at the…" Elena trailed off when she saw Bonnie on the other side of the threshold. "Hi."

"Hey. I didn't sleep last night." Bonnie took a second to clear her throat before she continued. "You were obviously upset about something and I just walked away."

Charlotte turned her back, about to go back into the kitchen because this conversation obviously didn't concern her. It was about Elena. But Bonnie grabbed her wrist, stopping her from moving any further.

"And I walked away from you Charlie. And that's not me. That can't be us. You guys are my best friends and if you need me, I'm here for you."

She turned her attention solely to Elena.

"And I'm sorry I couldn't show you that yesterday."

Elena nodded, tears slowly starting to prickle her eyes.

"I met my birth mother." Elena said with a wavering voice.

"Oh." Bonnie was thinking of the words to say. "Was it…Are you okay?"

All Elena did was burst into tears and Bonnie quickly stepped forward, wrapping her in a hug, pulling Charlotte in along with her.

[]

Elena and Charlotte were pushing through the hoards of students at the school, trying to make their way to the empty classroom Bonnie called them to.

"Did she say what she wanted?" Charlotte asked her older sister.

"No, she just asked us to meet her there, that she had found something."

The finally reached the room and rushed through the door to find Bonnie who was leafing through what looked like a grimoire.

"Hey! Thanks for meeting me." Bonnie said with a smile as the sisters walked over to where she was sitting. "I wanted you to see this."

"Is that Emily's spell book?" Elena asked.

Bonnie nodded.

"I've been going through it since Grams died. Check this out." Bonnie said pointing to a page. On it was a picture of the compass.

"That's the vampire compass." Charlotte stated with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, according to Emily, Jonathan Gilbert never actually succeeded in inventing anything. Emily secretly spelled them all with magic."

Bonnie began to flip through the pages, pointing out objects.

"Compass; rings; and the mystery device you guys told me about."

"Yeah, that's it..." Elena told the young witch, causing Charlotte to shake her head.

"But that's only part of it guys." Charlotte informed. "Damon only has the one piece."

"Emily pledged her loyalty to Katherine." Bonnie explained. "But she couldn't just stand by and watch innocent people get killed. This was the only way she could think of to help. To let Jonathan Gilbert believe that he'd actually invented these devices."

"So do we have any idea what it does?" Charlotte asked.

"Does it say anything about what it is?" Elena inquired further.

Bonnie looked back down at the page, reading the words that were written across it. She stopped and her eyes widened slightly, turning to Elena and Charlotte.

"Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?"

Elena nodded her head.

"Yes, we're positive. Why?"

"Because this is a weapon." Bonnie started and her next words spoken would surprise the sisters even more. "_Against_ vampires."

"We're sure about this?" Charlotte asked.

Bonnie only nodded her head.

"Well why would Isobel want it if it's a weapon against her own kind?"

Elena and Charlotte shook their heads.

"I have no idea." Charlotte said, looking up at the clock on the wall. "But I have to go, I'm practicing with Damon again today."

She grabbed her purse from the table and turned to leave but Bonnie's voice stopped her.

"Practice what?"

"Umm…Elena, explain." Charlotte demanded, rushing out of the room.

Elena turned back to Bonnie, trying to think of something to say.

"We think she's a witch."

Bonnie's eyes widened and she ran after Charlotte, calling out her name but the time she made it out of the classroom, Charlotte was already gone from sight.

"But she's not." She muttered under her breath.

[]

Charlotte rushed into the boarding house, going straight for the living room.

"So we got some insight on the mystery device." She told Damon when he came into view. "Bonnie said that it's a weapon against vampires. So what reason would Isobel want it for?"

"That doesn't make any sense. Witchy must have got it wrong."

"It was in Emily's grimoire, I don't think she's wrong."

Damon swallowed the rest of the bourbon that was in his glass before putting his full attention on his hazel eyed friend.

"So I've been thinking, if you are a witch, then you'll be able to do other things-"

Charlotte cut him off.

"What can witches do?"

"A bunch of things. But we'll start with the basics."

Charlotte was beginning to get dizzy and her eyes began to flutter.

Damon blurred forward, catching her before she could hit the ground.

"Charlie!" He yelled, lightly tapping her cheek. "Hey, stay with me pretty girl."

He swept her up in his arms and brought her over, laying her gently down on the couch.

"Damon," She muttered, beginning to drift into unconsciousness.

"I'm right here, stay with me."

But she had already blacked out.

_The end was coming, she could feel it. And something needed to be done._

_Her children would be destroyed if she did not act fast. The gods were starved of their prayers, and they were foolish enough to send Hades wrath upon mankind. _

_Charlotte was walking through the streets, chaos erupting around her. Men, women, and children pushing past her in desperation to find somewhere safe. _

_And it broke her heart because she knew that there was no where that they could hide, no where that the gods would not be able to find. _

_They were living in vermin, and in illness. Death was washing over them. _

_She needed to end the tyranny of the gods. She needed to free her children and let them live in peace, let them live for themselves and no one else. And certainly not for the gods._

_Charlotte knew what she had to do._

_The fabric of her dress flew in the harsh winds behind her and she climbed to the cliff at the edge of the city. _

_She could destroy the gods. She created them, so that meant that she could end them, but to destroy something that was a part of you, also meant that she would be ending her own life._

"_It must be done." Charlotte whispered, her eyes filling to the brim with the salty liquid that made up her tears._

_Thunder was rolling, and lightening was striking down on the city. No light could be seen from behind the dark gray clouds. The waters below her rising and the harsh waves slamming up against the mountain that guarded the people on the other side._

_She looked up at the sky, knowing that the gods she created were looking down from the Heavens above her. _

_She never wanted it to have to come to this. _

"_I'm so sorry, my loves, but it cannot go on like this. I cannot allow it." She called up to them. "You have become monsters, just like your parents. You have become power hungry. And mankind needs to be free of you."_

_Her children from below looked up at her. Her children from up above looking down. _

_Charlotte closed her eyes, feeling the power she had from within coming to skin's surface. Her eyes snapped open and flashed gold._

"_Noooo!" Zeus roared from above._

_A bright white glow formed around her as she could feel her life draining. It lit up the whole city, pushing through the storms of the sky and sea._

_She turned around to look down on mankind._

"_I may not have given you much, but I can give you this. Be better than they were, be better to each other than they were to you." Charlotte cried down to them. "I will give you your lives back; I will make it so that you only have to live for yourselves."_

_The light that surrounded her emanated brighter and shot out, reaching the Heavens that Mt. Olympus stood on._

_Zeus, Poseidon, and the other gods stood at the edge, watching with wide eyes. _

_The light reached them and they could feel their bodies tingling. Looking down, their limbs were slowly turning to dust._

_A few moments passed, when the light that Charlotte was projecting began to fade. Her breathing began to shallow, her body weak, and fighting to stand._

"_You live, and you fight, and you die, only for each other." She told mankind. "Not for them. Not anymore. You are the gods now."_

_Her knees gave out and she fell backwards, the water below rippling as she went under._

_A soft breeze blew, what was left of the gods, blowing with it._

_And as Charlotte sank to the bottom of the sea, she disappeared in a white light, that the people could see glowing from beneath the water's surface, curious expressions on their faces._

_They didn't know who this woman was, but she would forever be imbedded in their memories._

[]

Charlotte awoke, coughing and gasping for air.

"What happened?" Elena exclaimed rushing towards her sister and rubbing her back as she pulled her to a sitting position.

Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie were looking at her with worried faces.

"It was just a dream." She told everyone. "Nothing to be worried about."

Bonnie closed her eyes, hanging her head and letting out a sigh.

"Those dreams you've been having…I don't think that they're dreams Charlie." Bonnie finally spoke "Do you remember what happened in the dream you just had?"

"I was…I don't know." Charlotte didn't know how to explain it. "I was on a cliff and I told everyone watching me that they were pretty much free and the next thing I know, I'm falling in the water and dead."

"What do you mean they're not dreams Bonnie?" Stefan asked with a raised brow.

"The night that Damon attacked Charlotte, when Emily took over my body. I went home and talked to Grams. She told me something." Bonnie explained.

"Well we're waiting," Damon muttered sarcastically.

Charlotte and Elena were sitting with puzzled looks on their faces.

"She's not dreaming guys. She's remembering."

"But this is only the third time I've ever remembered a dream. Like completely. All the other times I never remember faces, or names. I only remember what happens and I remember feelings."

"What were they about Charlie?" Elena whispered, grabbing her sister's hand and giving a gentle squeeze.

"The first one I was arguing with Zeus—"

"Zeus? Like the god Zeus?" Damon scoffed cutting her off.

"Yes Damon! Zeus!" Charlotte yelled. "About how they were my children and I wouldn't let him hurt them. They stopped praying to the gods and that's what fed our immortality. And the dream I just had…"

"You sacrificed yourself to make sure _your_ children would be safe from them." Bonnie finished.

"How did you know?"

"Grams showed me a book, you were in it. You're not a witch Charlie; you're something bigger than any of us can even comprehend."

"So wait," Damon started. "You're trying to tell me, that Charlie, is a god?"

Bonnie shook her head, shutting down that idea.

"She's something even bigger. She created the gods, she helped create mankind."

Charlotte closed her eyes and thought she was going to pass out again.

"Grams said that witches serve nature. But then she said that nature serves Charlotte."

Everyone was speechless.

"So what am I?"

That's the question that they all wanted an answer to.

"You're the purest form of life there is. Charlotte, you've been reborn countless times, and in every time period, its right before darkness comes, right before a war begins." Bonnie explained. "That's why nobody can figure out where you came from Charlie, because no one dropped you off outside of your father's office. You rebirthed yourself, right where you were meant to be. I don't know why, but there's a reason you're here with us. We just need to find why."

Everyone absorbed the information Bonnie had just gave them.

"You're supposed to be an immortal being. Each time you've been reborn, you sacrificed your immortality at the end to save everyone. You gave every ounce of life you had to make sure the people you created were safe, _your_ children. But you almost died when Stefan attacked you at the pageant and the night your parents died, so it just doesn't make sense."

"So what your saying is, that I'm gonna die soon." Charlotte stated blankly.

"Is that the only thing you heard?" Damon asked. "Bonnie, there has to be some mistake. You're wrong."

"But I'm not. In the book it said that Charlotte is light. Light is the only thing that can defeat darkness." Bonnie paused. "And it's coming soon. Charlotte is 17, that's the same age it's always been. It's a continuous cycle. She's reborn where she's meant to be and then she sacrifices herself for mankind when she's that age. The last time she was reborn was the 8th century."

Charlotte shook her head.

"That's impossible. Because I remember having a dream of a time period after that and I died! Like knife to the chest died. I remember because…" She stopped, not wanting to say that she remembered because it was Elena yielding the dagger.

"You remember because why Charlie?" Stefan asked in a calming voice.

"Because I remember what it felt like to die, to feel the life leaving me."

Damon shook his head; he looked about ready to explode.

"If this is true, this doesn't leave this room! Do you understand me!" He shouted, looking around at all the faces. "If she is who you say she is Bonnie, someone could be out their looking for her, waiting to end her. It doesn't leave this house until we know everything for sure. This conversation never happened. Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

Damon stepped forward and kneeled in front of Charlotte, grabbing her face so she would look at him.

"You're going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen to you, I won't let it. Okay?" He whispered to her.

Stefan looked on, watching how gentle Damon was with his girlfriend's sister. He hadn't seen this side of Damon in a very long time.

Charlotte nodded her head and Damon stood up.

"The device is dispelled. We give it to Isobel and that's that. Then we figure out everything about Charlie."

[]

Charlotte, Damon and Stefan were standing behind trees at the town's square, waiting for Isobel to arrive. Elena was out in the open, device in her pocket.

The younger Gilbert girl was peeking out around the tree, watching as Isobel approached Elena from behind.

"Where is the device?" Isobel asked.

"Where is my brother?" Elena retorted.

Charlotte's eyes widened before she turned to Damon glaring.

"She has my brother?" She hissed quietly.

She didn't care if Isobel heard her. Damon's hand come up quickly and covered her mouth.

"Do you really think I came alone?"

The trio watched as two vampires came to stand by Isobel.

"Did you really think that I came alone?" Elena questioned rhetorically.

"Where's my brother?" Charlotte growled as the three of them came out from behind the trees.

"For god sakes, call home." Isobel told Elena exasperated.

"What?"

"Call home and ask to speak to your brother Jeremy." Isobel repeated.

Charlotte pulled out her phone and dialed home, letting out a sigh of relief when she heard her little brother's voice answer.

"Jer, are you okay?"

Charlotte nodded her head towards Elena, letting her sister know that Jeremy was alright.

"We'll be home soon, alright?"

She hung up the phone and told Elena that he was fine.

Elena turned back to Isobel and shook her head in realization.

"You were never gonna hurt him." She stated.

"No, I was going to kill him." Isobel told her. "Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me. I don't have any."

"But you took a risk with Damon. How did you know that he was gonna give it to me?" Elena questioned.

"Because he's in love with you."

Charlotte's eyes widened. She saw Damon look uncomfortably at Stefan and her thoughts were confirmed tenfold. She knew that Damon cared for her sister, she just didn't know that it ran as deep as love.

Elena slammed the device in Isobel's cold, dead hand.

"Thank you." She said, after a long pause.

"For what?"

Elena scoffed with a shake of her head.

"For being such a monumental disappointment. It keeps the memory of my real mother perfectly intact."

"Goodbye, Elena." Isabel said, emotionlessly. "As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed. Katherine was smart. She got out. But we all know that you're not Katherine."

"Yea, but she's sure turning out to be like her." Charlotte grumbled under her breath.

As soon as Isobel left, Stefan rushed forward, pulling Elena into his arms. Seeing Elena and Stefan looking at Damon, Charlotte reached forward and grabbed his hand, pulling him away.

"Come on, you can walk me home. It's a nice night."

They were walking along the sidewalk with their fingers laced, Charlotte swinging their arms back and forth.

"They say we're young and we don't know, we won't find out untiiiiilll we're grown. Well I don't know if all that's true, cause you've got me and baby I've got youuuu." Charlotte started singing, making Damon chuckle.

"Okay, okay. I get it." Damon told her laughing. "We've got each other."

He unlaced their fingers and threw an arm around her shoulders.

"I know I'm totally gonna kill the mood we've just created, but…." Charlotte started.

"You wanna know if what Isobel said was true?" Damon finished.

"No because I already know it's true. The way you were with her today, I could see it clearly. And…" She paused, trying to think of the words to say. "You should always want to be with someone who puts you first. You should never settle for being second best. Elena's not worth it. There's really nothing special about her."

Damon gave a small snicker.

"Yea, I wish that too. But hey, you can't change anything." He whispered. "Do you want to talk about what Bonnie said? I saw the way you looked when she told us."

Charlotte shook her head, she just wanted to completely shut down.

She let out a relieved sigh when they came to the front of her house and she ran up the steps, but Damon was close behind her, grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face him.

"Hey, Charlie it's okay. I will _never_ let anyone hurt you." He reassured.

Charlotte looked up at him, her eyes glassy.

"I don't want to die Damon."

Damon pulled her into his chest.

"You won't! I won't let that happen."

He pulled her away so that he could see her face when he made his next promise.

"I'm going to promise you something, okay?"

Once she nodded, he continued.

"You're always gonna come first to me pretty girl. I will never let anyone hurt you or even come close to it. We'll figure this out. It's all probably some big misunderstanding."

Charlotte gave a soft smile, nodding in understanding.

"You'll always be my number one, too. You'll never be second best."

He gently kissed her on the forehead and pushed her toward the front door.

"Go on, get inside. I'll see you later."

"Bye Damon." She whispered, turning the handle and slowly pushing open the door.

Things were gonna change, she could feel it.

[]

Charlotte was laying in bed a little while later, listening to Jeremy and Elena fight.

He had discovered the truth.

Once she heard his door slam, she crawled out of bed and made her way out to the hall where Elena had her head leaning against his closed door.

"You should learn to hide your journal better if you're gonna write all this stuff down." She informed her older sister.

Elena didn't say anything; she only looked at Charlotte with a sad expression.

"What are you going to do about Damon?" She asked next. "Because Isobel was right about one thing; you are turning into Katherine."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Elena snarled.

"Really Elena, because I think you're doing exactly what Katherine did in 1864. Damon's in love with you and…and those looks you've been giving him. You feel something for him too! I'm not blind. And it needs to stop. He's my friend, and I care about him and I don't want to see him get hurt by a replicate of the same bitch that broke his heart 146 years ago!" Charlotte hissed, trying to keep her voice down.

"I don't feel anything for him." She finally stuttered out.

"Really? Because that look you gave him at the town's square when you were in your _boyfriend's_ arms. Or how about the one in Alaric's classroom yesterday?" Charlotte listed off. "Those looks tell me something **completely** different."

Elena didn't know what to say, and after a few minutes of silence, Charlotte gave her a disgusted look, before she stormed into her room.

And Elena got another door slammed in her face that night.

The eldest Gilbert looked let down as she walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Now both of her siblings were mad at her.

* * *

**A/N:**

**(polyvore.)com/hmhylbm_aam/collection?id=1611373**

Sorry for any errors in chapter!

So this is kind of late. And it kind of sucked. :(

What do you do when you get distracted? You disable the internet so you can focus on writing the chapter. And yet with no internet, you're still able to find something to do. Who knew solitaire could be **so** entertaining? I think I'm gonna have to start writing the chapters out on paper and then type them in.

So in this chapter, Charlotte discovers a new talent, friends make up, and Bonnie tells everyone what she knows about Charlotte. Also some sister drama! Meow!

So I'm going to explain things further about Charlotte in the chapter where Caroline gets changed, so that's in like 2 more chapters. So the next 2 chapters should be coming out soon, because I can't wait to get to that episode :)

**Hopefully you enjoy! **

**And if you did…leave a review please!**


	21. Chapter 20: Founder's Day

**A/N:**

Thanks to everyone who reviewed :) And yes **ShatteredxAttraction**, I absolutely love OTH, it's one of my favorite shows and Sophia Bush is amazing she's one of my favorite actresses. I was watching OTH when I started to write this story and she just seemed like a great fit to portray Charlotte! I hope you guys like it :)

* * *

Chapter 20: Founder's Day

Charlotte was laughing with Bonnie and Caroline as they took pictures together. She had left the house early in the morning to come help set up for Founder's Day. She wasn't ready to talk to her sister.

Bonnie held the camera up to take a picture of Matt and Caroline.

"Say cheese!"

"Oh wait!" Caroline said as she turned to Matt. "Hide your cast, it's not era appropriate."

Charlotte chuckled while Matt looked at the blonde haired girl in disbelief.

"Seriously?"

"Yes!"

This was normal Caroline. She always wanted everything to be perfect. But it was alright today. It was her day. She was Miss Mystic Falls.

"Okay, fine." Matt gave in, moving to Caroline's other side and hiding his cast behind her back.

Bonnie snapped the picture with a wide smile and Charlotte turned around pressing a kiss to Tyler's cheek who had just joined them.

"I want one with the girls now." Caroline voiced with a wide grin.

"Here, I'll take it." Tyler offered, taking the camera from Bonnie and the dark skinned girl grabbed Charlotte's arm, dragging her over to their other friend and they posed for a picture, their straight white teeth on full display as all three grinned.

"I'll be on the float." Matt informed Caroline, as his eyes narrowed at Tyler, and he turned and walked away.

"I said I was sorry!" Tyler exclaimed.

Charlotte tilted her head and gave him an 'are you kidding me' look.

"Ty, you made out with his _mom_."

"Yea, and let's not forget the fact that you beat him to a pulp right afterwards." Caroline finished. "You're gonna have to do a little bit better than sorry."

Caroline turned and walked away and it was then that Charlotte noticed that Bonnie had also disappeared. She was left standing alone with Tyler.

She slowly stepped towards him and patted his shoulder.

"I'm sure things will fall back into place sooner or later." Charlotte told him softly. "Now go put yourself on display for the town, handsome. I'll see you later."

[]

Charlotte was looking around for anything to do when she ran into her brother.

"Hey!" She exclaimed smiling, but she only got a frown in return and Jeremy tried to side step her. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you." He snarled.

"Jer, I know you're mad and upset, but all I ever wanted was for you to be happy. And I'm here, even if you don't want me to be. And I know this can't be fixed overnight…but…I'm not going anywhere."

Charlotte started to walk away. She knew that Jeremy needed some time. But then she stopped and turned back to him.

"And someday, you'll understand why me and Elena did what we did. So…I'll give you all the time you need."

[]

"Let's give a big hand to the Mystic Fall's high school Marching Band!" Carol Lockwood announced, as the marching band and cheerleaders started to parade down the street.

An uproar of applause came from the townspeople, Charlotte and Bonnie clapping along with them.

"And for a little local history, Mr. Saltzman's students have recreated Virginia's Battle of Willow Creek."

Charlotte smiled as a float drove down the street carrying her brother and Tyler in their soldier uniforms.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our stunning Miss Mystic Falls court and their handsome escort."

Another float came down the street carrying the Miss Mystic Falls court, consisting of Caroline and Matt, and Stefan and Elena.

"This is Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls. Aren't they beautiful?"

Bonnie caught Elena's eyes and gave a smile, waving at Charlotte's older sister. Elena smiled and waved back and turned her eyes to Charlotte, waving hello, but Charlotte only glared.

The younger Gilbert girl felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Damon but his gaze was focused on Elena, making Charlotte roll her eyes.

"What do you want?" Bonnie questioned the vampire once she saw him.

"Just came to find my girl and watch the parade." Damon told the witch innocently.

Bonnie said goodbye to Charlotte and turned around to leave.

"Where are you going?" Damon inquired.

"Away from you."

"I wanna say something to you." He told her.

"Just leave me alone."

Damon shook his head.

"Thank you. The device Emily spelled could have killed me." Damon started. "I don't take what you did lightly so…thank you."

"I didn't do it for you." Bonnie informed him. "I did it for Elena and Charlotte."

"I know." Damon said nodding. "But I'm still very grateful and…I owe you."

The two held eye contact for quite some time before Damon broke it, reaching back and grabbing Charlotte's hand.

"Enjoy the parade." He told Bonnie with a soft smile, pulling Charlotte in the opposite direction.

As the two friends walked in silence, Damon could feel Charlotte's hazel eyes burning into the side of his face, causing him to look at her with a raised brow.

"That was…" She was trying to find the words to say. "It was nice of you to thank her. I know that took a lot out of you."

Damon shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"Come on pretty girl, let's go have some fun."

[]

Charlotte and Damon were laughing and having a good time in the Grill, when Elena walked in, capturing Damon's attention.

"Go." The teenage girl spoke, waving a hand in her sister's direction. "I'm just gonna head home."

"Charlotte!" Damon tried to protest, but she only shook her head and walked around him, sauntering past her sister without a word, leaving a disheartened look on Elena's face.

After Charlotte left the Grill, she wandered around, just watching the people before her. They looked so happy, so full of life. That was something she missed. Right now, she just felt so empty…so alone.

"Charlotte!" She heard someone call her name and she turned to find Anna rushing towards her. "Listen I know you don't approve of me and Jeremy but you need to find him and get him out of here."

Charlotte put her hands on the vampire's arms, trying to calm her franticness.

"Anna what is it? What's wrong?"

"You're still around?" Charlotte heard Damon's voice from behind her.

"There's something you need to know." Anna started. "The vampires from the tomb are planning an attack tonight."

"What?" "How do you know this?" Charlotte and Damon spoke at the same time.

Charlotte needed to find her brother and sister and get them out of here.

"I went to them. They think I'm with them but I'm not. They want the founding families dead."

Damon reached over and grabbed Charlotte's hand, giving a comforting squeeze.

"When is this supposed to happen?" Damon questioned.

"When the fireworks start."

Charlotte could hear her heart thundering in her chest. The fireworks would be starting soon. Her hazel eyes glanced at the families surrounding them. Parents with their children. Friends laughing together.

"John Gilbert wants to use that invention on them." Damon voiced, breaking the silence.

Anna looked scared.

"Then we can't be here." She told Damon.

"But Bonnie deactivated it." Charlotte cut in. "So it doesn't work anymore."

"Well, then," Anna began. "A lot of people are gonna die."

Charlotte's mind wandered back to what Bonnie had told them. That Charlotte was reborn for a purpose. To fight darkness. Maybe this was it.

"Damon…" Charlotte whispered, grabbing the vampire's attention.

When Damon saw the look in her eyes, he knew what she was thinking.

"No!" He growled before turning his attention back to Anna. "Where are they right now?"

"They're already here Damon."

[]

Damon dragged Charlotte by her arm, pulling her along behind him, ignoring the words she was speaking.

"Ric!" Damon shouted when he caught sight of the vampire hunter.

Alaric walked away from the people surrounding him to talk to the vampire.

"Yea?"

"You keep those nifty little vampire darts in the car?" Damon inquired.

Alaric furrowed his brows in confusion at why Damon was asking this question.

"Yea, why do you ask?"

"Because this square is crawling with tomb vampires." Damon informed him before adding that they might need a stake or two.

"Yea, got it." Alaric turned on his heels and rushed to go to his car.

Damon searched around and spotted Stefan and Elena just up ahead.

Again he dragged Charlotte behind him, grabbing Elena's hand with his unoccupied one and began to pull her along also.

"What are you doing?" Elena exclaimed, trying to pull herself from Damon's firm grip.

"Saving your life. Fifteen words or less…tomb vamps are here, founding families are their target." Damon turned to Stefan, his expression serious. "Get them out of here. Now!"

Damon gave the sisters a soft push towards Stefan and turned to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Stefan asked his older brother.

"That's more than fifteen words, Stefan."

Damon went to leave for real this time until Charlotte stopped him.

"Damon!" She roared. "Listen to me!"

All threes eyes' widened at the power Charlotte was radiating and Damon stepped back to her, grabbing her face roughly in his hands.

"No, you listen to me Charlie." Damon growled. "It's **not** going to happen. I won't let it. So go with your sister."

Before Charlotte could protest Damon was gone and she turned back to Elena and Stefan before her gaze settled solely on Elena.

"I love you. Now go find Jeremy and get out of here!"

Charlotte went to run through the hoards of people to find Damon, but Elena grabbed her arm stopping her. The look on Elena's face was one of pleading.

"No! You come with us!"

The younger Gilbert sister shook her head.

"I can't let these people get hurt Elena. They don't deserve that." Charlotte turned to Stefan and continued. "Take her and find Jeremy, get them both out of here! I'll be fine."

[]

Charlotte was running around frantically, which was not easy to do in wedges, when she saw people begin to drop to the ground, holding their heads in pain.

Vampires.

The device.

"Damon," She whispered, rushing off in hopes to find him, but she came up empty.

She saw one of Sheriff Forbes deputies dragging a vampire behind him and followed after to see where he was taking it.

Her father's old office.

"Focus Charlotte." She muttered closing her eyes.

She was hoping to hear inside someone's head to find out any information she could.

She heard her Uncle John.

"The device is done. The only thing keeping them down is vervain. We don't have much time, let's finish this."

Charlotte started stalking towards the office but was stopped when a deputy grabbed her arm.

"You can't go in there." He told her, causing her hazel eyes to harden.

"Charlotte!"

John Gilbert came up behind the deputy and Charlotte glared. She could smell the fire.

"What did you do!" She cried out.

But she didn't get an answer.

Charlotte went to side step him, but he grabbed her arm stopping her.

"You're not going anywhere!"

"Who are you to decide who gets to live or die! They were people once, they still are. And Damon's good! I won't let him die!"

She pulled from John's grip and walked around him, this time he didn't stop her.

"You're already too late."

Tearing off her jacket, Charlotte tossed it to the ground before taking off her wedges and walking into the building barefooted.

She ripped open the basement door, not caring that the doorknob was warm to the touch.

Thankfully the flames weren't that severe so she had somewhat of a chance to get down there and find Damon.

She tried to stay as far away from the flames as possible as she made her way down the steps to the basement. Her skin was starting to sweat from the heat and when she reached the bottom, her heart wrenched at the sight.

Vampires were lying dead everywhere. And then she saw Anna and her heart broke for Jeremy.

Charlotte kept looking around and let out a sigh of relief when she caught sight of Damon knocked out.

"Damon!" The teenage girl cried out as she rushed towards him, falling to her knees. "C'mon, you need to get up!"

She tried to lift him, but his weight was just too much.

"Damon!" She sobbed. "I need you! You need to wake up! You can't do this to me!"

Damon started to stir and his eyes fluttered open as he looked up at Charlotte.

"What are you doing down here!"

"Rescuing you!" She told him like it was the most obvious thing.

Charlotte tried to lift Damon again, but as soon as she got him a little ways off the floor, he went back down again.

She could feel the flames burning hotter and dread started to fill her. They weren't going to get out of here.

[]

"Hey you can't go in there!" Bonnie yelled when Stefan opened the door. "The fire will take you out."

"He's my brother Bonnie." Stefan told her and was about to walk into the building when he saw a pair of shoes and a jacket lying on the ground. He picked up the jacket before he realized who the owner was. "Charlotte…"

And the jacket dropped from his hands as he ran into the building.

[]

Charlotte was starting to get woozy from all the smoke she was inhaling. She grabbed Damon's hand with her own and squeezed it tightly, bringing her other hand to cup his cheek.

His blue eyes slowly opened and she gave him a watery smile, thinking that this was the end.

"I love you, you know that? I'm so happy that I got to know you."

Damon gave her a small smile. She could tell he was weakened.

"You're something special, pretty girl."

Charlotte leaned forward to place a soft kiss on his forehead before resting her own against his.

"But I made you a promise. I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and I intend to keep it."

With all the strength he could muster, Damon rose to his knees.

Charlotte pulled herself to her feet and tried to help him up the rest of the way.

But she stopped, the diminishing flames distracting her and the sight of Stefan across the room filling her with hope.

Stefan rushed forward and helped her lift Damon.

"Get him out of here! I can walk on my own." She told him.

Stefan nodded and started leading Damon from the basement, Charlotte following closely behind.

[]

Stefan and Damon were suddenly tumbling out of the building and Elena looked relieved, but she let out a sob of joy when her younger sister came right out behind them and she rushed forward, dropping Charlotte's jacket she was holding and pulling the girl into her arms.

"I thought I lost you."

Charlotte took in deep breaths of the night air and pulled from Elena.

"I'm fine. I'm alright." She whispered, smoothing down Elena's hair. "Jeremy—"

"Ric took him home."

Charlotte nodded and then found herself wrapped in another hug.

Bonnie.

Even though Charlotte was upset with the witch, she hugged her back just as tightly.

"I need to go home and check on Jer." She whispered, giving Bonnie a soft smile as she pulled away. "We'll talk later."

Charlotte grabbed her wedges and jacket from the ground, slipping them on and walked over to check on Damon, grabbing his hand.

"Come with me?"

[]

"Don't do that again." He told her when they pulled into the Gilbert driveway.

"I'll do it however many times I have to Damon." She told him. "You're worth saving."

Charlotte leaned back in the driver's seat and laid her hands in her lap.

"Anna's dead. How am I supposed to tell Jeremy?"

She was crestfallen. And Damon could see that.

"I'll be there with you."

Charlotte nodded and got out of the car, Damon waiting for her at the other side.

When she reached the vampire, he grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together and pulled her up the steps and into the house, keeping her close as they walked up to Jeremy's room.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy questioned when he saw the two standing in the bathroom he shared with Elena.

"Jer…" Charlotte said, stepping forward to sit next to her brother. "It's Anna."

"Anna's dead." Damon finished for her, his voice sincere.

Jeremy nodded.

"I figured that once they took her away."

Charlotte grabbed her little brother's hand, gripping it tightly. She could hear the pain in his voice.

"I'm so sorry, I know how much you cared about her. And I know how much she cared about you."

"I saw her killed." Damon spoke. "I was watching and all I could think about was…I wanted to help her but I couldn't."

She could see that Damon was torn by what he saw.

"Why are you telling me this?" Jeremy asked in the same tone as Damon.

Damon stepped from the bathroom and towards the siblings.

"I took away your suffering once before, I can do it again but it's your choice."

Charlotte was about to protest, she knew how that turned out last time, but Jeremy spoke before she could get a word out.

"Look, I know you think you took it away but it's still there. Even if I can't remember why." Jeremy told them, trying to get his point across. "I still feel empty, alone and making me forget won't fix it. It won't fit what's really wrong."

Jeremy turned his head away and Charlotte grabbed his chin, making him face her.

"You're never alone Jer. I'm _always_ here. Whenever you need me."

"What I did to Vicki was wrong. Sorry for my part."

Charlotte turned her hazel eyes to look at Damon and smiled. He was trying to right his wrongs. She turned back to Jeremy and pressed a kiss to his brow, rising from his bed.

"I'm gonna go clean up…get changed." She informed. "You guys talk, I'll be in my room when you're done Damon. And Jer, if you need anything, I'm right across the hall."

Charlotte left the Jeremy's room, gently closing the door behind her and made her way into her own.

She began to strip from her clothes, leaving a trail to her bathroom where she climbed into the shower. The steaming hot water cascaded down her body as it loosened all the knots and washed away the stresses of the day.

Once she was fully cleaned, Charlotte turned off the water, stepping out and wrapping herself in a fluffy towel, bringing another one up to capture the moisture from her dripping hair.

Walking from the bathroom and back into her bedroom, Charlotte tossed the towel she was drying her hair with onto the floor, and went to her closet, pulling on clean clothes.

Just as the shirt slipped over her head, her bedroom door clicked shut and she turned to find Damon.

"Hi." She murmured, picking up her brush from her dresser and about to run it through her hair until Damon came forward and snatched it from her hand, grabbing her wrist and leading her over to her bed, where he sat back and pulled the girl between his legs.

Damon started working the brush through her snarls gently and neither of them said a word. But the silence was uncomfortable; it was never uncomfortable with them.

"Thank you." He whispered, and Charlotte made a noise as if to ask what for. "For thinking that I was worth saving."

"I don't mind playing Prince Charming every once in a while." Charlotte chuckled, the feel of her brush scraping against her scalp making her sleepy.

Damon tossed her brush onto her bed and pulled her until her back was resting flush against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I didn't come into this town expecting to find you. But I'm glad that I did." He admitted, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.

Charlotte smiled and turned to face him.

"I'm glad we found each other too. We make a pretty good team."

She climbed from her bed and went to pick up the dirty laundry strewn across her floor.

"I should get going. You need to get some sleep; it's been a long day." Damon told her, getting up from her bed and making his way towards her door, but he stopped just as he opened it, turning back to face her. "And Charlie…I love you too."

Charlotte's grin widened and she nodded her head.

"I know." She whispered. "Goodnight Damon."

She stood there for a moment, just staring at the closed door, thoughts flying through her mind a mile a minute. After she pulled from her thoughts, she finished picking up the clothes from the floor and threw them in her hamper.

"Charlotte," The younger Gilbert sister heard from behind her, and she turned to see her aunt standing in the door. "I have to go file a report about your dad's office, I'll be home later."

Charlotte nodded.

"I'm just gonna head to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Jenna gave a soft smile before coming forward and pressing a kiss to her niece's forehead and left the bedroom, closing the door part way behind her.

Charlotte went a laid in bed for a few minutes before she heard a noise from downstairs.

She climbed from her bed and tiptoed her way down the stairs and the hallway leading to the kitchen.

Her eyes widened at what she saw, but they weren't as wide as the girl that was holding the bloody knife.

Katherine's mouth fell open at the teenage girl in front of her.

And then overcoming her shock, she finally found words.

"It's _you_."

* * *

**A/N:**

**(polyvore.)com/hmhylbm_aam/collection?id=1611373**

Sorry this is kind of rushed and crappy and boring! And also, kinda short. I'm just so eager to move onto season 2 and Klaus **:)**

And sorry for any errors and mistakes.

Final chapter of season 1! So more Damon/Charlie friendship in this chapter and Katherine is here!

New chapter should be out in a few days.

**Review!**


	22. Chapter 21: The Return

**A/N**: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. They really mean a lot to me!

* * *

Chapter 21: The Return

"_It's you."_

The front door slammed shut, causing Charlotte to turn her head, seeing Elena standing there. It was a mistake to look because when she turned back to the kitchen. The girl who she was sure was Katherine was gone.

"What is it?" Elena asked her sister, but the younger Gilbert girl didn't answer, she only rushed forward, picking up the dropped bloody knife.

When she stood up, she heard a groan and caught sight of John lying on the kitchen floor. Fingers chopped off and a stab to the gut. He was bleeding badly.

"Elena!" Charlotte yelled and Elena came running into the kitchen, shock written clearly across her face when she saw the sight before her.

Elena came and kneeled down next to Charlotte, placing her hand on John's wound to try and stop the bleeding.

"Call 911!" Charlotte demanded frantically, rising to her feet. "I need to check on Jeremy."

She could hear her older sister on the phone as she stampeded up the stairs, calling Jeremy's name, and throwing open her little brother's bedroom door to see him unconscious on the bed.

"Jeremy!" Charlotte cried, rushing forward and climbing onto the bed next to him, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him roughly. "Jeremy! Wake up! Please, wake up!"

"Charlotte!" Elena yelled coming up the stairs.

Charlotte didn't pay attention as she kept shaking Jeremy, pleading for him to wake up.

Elena came into the bedroom and watched as Charlotte let out a sob as Jeremy gasped, waking up.

[]

Charlotte was upstairs with Jeremy after she had changed from her bloody clothes. They were sitting up against his headboard, his head resting against her chest as her slim fingers worked their way through his brown locks, lighting grazing his scalp.

She wanted to yell and scream at him, but she couldn't find the words. Charlotte was just happy that he was alive, that he was okay. And then there was the worry of Caroline. She had gotten a text from Bonnie explaining to her what had happened.

Charlotte felt as if since the vampires entered her life, she and Caroline had drifted apart. But she knew that Caroline would be okay; she had to be. And once she was, Charlotte was going to repair that friendship. She would make sure that Caroline knew how much she meant to her.

Charlotte was trying to block out the commotion she heard downstairs but lifted her head when Elena came back into the room, Stefan in tow.

The vampire came forward, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Charlotte and grabbed Jeremy's face forcefully, scrutinizing his eyes.

"Look at me!"

"I'm fine, okay!" Jeremy growled. "I feel exactly the same!"

Charlotte knew from Jeremy's demeanor that he was disappointed he didn't change.

"Should I call a paramedic?" Elena asked. "What should I do?"

Stefan looked at Jeremy's eyes again and shook his head.

"No, he's fine."

"You mean I'm _not_ a vampire? Damn it!"

Charlotte turned and gave Jeremy an incredulous look, but it was Elena who spoke.

"Don't say that Jeremy!" The oldest Gilbert scolded like a mother would her child. "Jer, why would you want that?"

"Did you not hear about Anna, what happened to her tonight?" Jeremy questioned before spitting out, "She's dead!"

"I am very sorry about Anna but it's very important that you listen to me right now. With every passing moment Anna's blood is leaving your system. If you try to kill yourself right now, you could really die." Stefan tried to make Jeremy understand but the teenage boy turned away from him. "Hey! Do you understand me?"

Stefan had slapped him one second and the next he was gripping his chest in pain. His heart felt about ready to explode.

Charlotte's eyes were hard and glowing gold as she stared at Stefan. The bright color slowly dissipated and she snarled at the vampire.

"Hit him again and we'll see what I can really do. Do you understand me?"

Stefan nodded his head and Charlotte gave him a pleased smile.

"Good."

Elena glared at her sister before turning back to Stefan.

"What about the pills he took?" She asked her boyfriend.

"He didn't take enough to die so Anna's blood actually healed him." Stefan told her.

"So he'll be fine? Physically?" Charlotte inquired to which Stefan nodded.

"Miss Gilbert?" A police officer said from the doorway.

"We'll be right there." Elena answered.

"Jer, call me if you need me." Charlotte told her little brother before turning to Elena. "I'll be in the car."

[]

Before Elena even stopped the car, Charlotte was out of it as quickly as she could. She raced into the hospital and through the halls, searching for Bonnie.

"Bonnie!" She shouted with relief when she saw the witch up ahead leaning against a wall. "How is she? What do we know so far? Is she going to be alright?"

Charlotte just kept rambling until Bonnie placed reassuring hands on her arms.

"She's weak Charlie." Bonnie told her as gently as possible. "They don't know if she's going to make it."

Charlotte felt her heart shatter and a sob tore from her lips. Bonnie quickly pulled the girl into her arms and they held each other tightly.

"What is it? What happened?" Elena asked when she reached them.

Charlotte unwrapped her arms from Bonnie and pulled away, looking at her sister with sad eyes.

"They…they don't know…if…Caroline's…gonna make it." The younger Gilbert sister hiccupped.

"What?" Elena voice held disbelief. "But isn't there something that you can do? Like a spell or something?"

Charlotte looked at Bonnie expectantly.

"She doesn't know how, do you?" Damon spoke from behind her.

"No I don't." Bonnie sighed in agreement. She felt defeated.

"No you don't." Damon repeated. "Because it took Emily years to learn a spell like that."

Charlotte could see that tensions were rising.

"Okay guys, we get it."

But Bonnie didn't stop.

"Well, I can take down a vampire, that spell was easy to learn."

Damon ignored that and turned to the sisters.

"I can give Caroline some blood."

"No, no way." "Yes! As long as she'll be okay." Elena and Charlotte said at the same time.

But it seems Charlotte's opinion didn't matter as Damon turned to Elena.

"No, just enough to heal her. She will be safe in the hospital and it will be out of her system in a day." Damon explained. "She will be better Elena."

"It's too risky, I can't agree to that." Elena told him.

"Well I don't care what you do or don't agree with Elena!" The hazel eyed girl hissed.

"Do it." Bonnie cut in and turned to Elena when she saw the expression on her face. "Charlie's right. This is Caroline. We can't let her die."

"Do it!" Charlotte demanded.

Damon looked at Bonnie.

"If I do this, you and me, call truce?"

Bonnie shook her head.

"No. But you'll do it anyway, for Elena."

'_Yep, forget about Charlie.'_ Charlotte thought. _'It's always about Elena.'_

Bonnie walked away and it was just the two sisters and Damon.

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now…" Damon started, talking to Elena. "But we should talk about what happened tonight."

Charlotte's brow quirked. What happened with Elena and Damon?

"Yeah, one of the tomb vampires got into the house and almost killed John."

The younger girl smirked. She knew something that they didn't know, but she wasn't going to say anything yet. She wanted to know what happened between them first.

"What? When? What are you talking about? After I left?" Damon shot off question after question.

"You were there?" Elena asked.

"Come on Elena, you know I was."

Charlotte's eyes flickered back and forth between the two faces.

"When were you at the house?"

"_Really_?" Damon asked. "Earlier, on the porch, we were talking, exposed our feelings, come on, we _kissed_ Elena!"

Charlotte's eyes widened. That bitch!

"Okay, I don't have time for this Damon." Elena said exasperated.

"If you want to forget what happened, fine. But I can't."

Charlotte pulled Damon back when Aunt Jenna arrived and chuckled when she saw the older woman glare at the vampire.

They both listened in on Jenna and Elena's conversation and Charlotte was just watching Damon's facial expressions to see when he would be struck with realization. And then she saw it.

"Oh you got to be kidding me!"

[]

"Stefan?" Elena asked as her, Damon and Charlotte walked into the Gilbert house.

"Elena."

"What happened?" Elena questioned seeing him picking himself up from the floor.

A knowing smile came to Charlotte's lips and before anyone could answer she sing-songed the words that made everyone's blood run cold.

"She's back."

[]

Charlotte was sitting on the island counter in the Gilbert kitchen while Elena was upstairs explaining to Jeremy.

"Did she say what she wanted?" Damon asked Stefan.

"No."

"Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance." Damon grumbled.

"She said she fooled one of us at least. What does that mean?" Stefan questioned.

"She pretended to be Elena too when I was leaving earlier tonight."

Charlotte went to speak but Elena came in the room interrupting her.

"I told Jeremy, I can't lie to him anymore."

"Are you alright?" Stefan asked her.

And that question caused Elena to go into one of her whining fits.

"No, I'm not alright. I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone things would get better."

"Guys…" Charlotte said.

"I know, we all did." Stefan told his girlfriend.

"Guys…"

"Katherine was in this house, that means she's been invited in, what are we gonna do?"

"Move." Damon suggested like it was the most obvious thing.

"Very helpful, thank you." Elena responded with sarcasm.

"Guys…"

"Katherine wants you dead; there's zero you can do about; you will be dead but your not." Damon explained. "So clearly she has other plans."

"Right and we need to find out what those other plans are and not provoke her in the process." Stefan suggested before asking. "What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes but she couldn't deny that she was interested in what had happened earlier.

"To risk another frown line encroaching on a very crowded forehead…we…kissed."

Charlotte blocked out the rest of the bickering until Stefan blurred toward Damon with vampire speed.

"Oh my God! Guys!" Charlotte shouted causing the three people to turn to look at her. "She knows who I am. And it wasn't like an 'oh it's you' you, it was an 'oh my f-ing god it's you! How is this possible!' you."

Elena glared at her little sister.

"This isn't about you right now Charlie! We have bigger things to deal with!" Elena interrupted. "Like how Damon thought he was kissing me!"

Elena turned to calm Stefan down but Charlotte blew up.

"Oh dear! I completely forgot it always has to be about Elena. And you know what! Fine. I'm done!" Charlotte shouted. "I'm done with all of this. I can take care of myself."

She went to leave the kitchen but she turned back around, her gaze hardening on her sister.

"And you couldn't be more sympathetic with our brother about losing the girl he loves? Tell me something Elena, what are you going to do when in a few years, you get older and Stefan stays the same?" Charlotte asked, arching a perfect brow, she was pouring out all of her frustrations. "It's not always about you Elena, it's not always about what you want!"

She turned on her heel walking from the kitchen and grabbing her keys from the table in the hall.

"Stay the hell away from me!" She shouted, slamming the front door shut and walking out to her car.

She didn't want to be there.

Pulling out of the driveway, she started enroute to where she felt she needed to be most.

[]

"Hey," Charlotte greeted smiling softly at the blonde boy, who opened his blue eyes and looked at her as soon as he heard her voice.

Matt returned her smile, motioning to the open space next to him. Charlotte walked over and sat down, curling into his side.

"How is she?" She pondered. Her voice was thick with concern.

"She should be coming out of surgery soon." Matt told her. "Then we'll know."

Charlotte nodded in understanding and rested her head on his shoulder. She could feel her heavy eyes starting to droop but she fought to keep them open and apparently Matt took notice.

"Go to sleep, Charlie." He whispered. "I'll wake you up when we find anything out."

And she didn't even have to be told twice.

[]

Damon came into the hospital later that night and saw Charlotte curled into Matt's side sound asleep.

He looked at her with a sad expression on his face. He didn't stand up for her earlier. She was completely ignored.

And now she was pissed. He didn't care that she was mad at everyone. He only cared that she was mad at _him_.

Charlotte was the only one who had his back. The only one who stood by him and now he had lost her.

Even though she didn't want to be around him, he would still make sure she was safe from Katherine. And besides, they weren't even sure what Katherine knew about her, or even how she knew who Charlotte was.

Damon shook the thoughts from his head. He had come to the hospital for Caroline, not to stare longingly at the girl and feel remorse for the girl who had become his best friend.

[]

Charlotte was being shaken awake and she opened her hazel eyes to see Matt standing above her, a wide smile on his face.

"Wanna see her?"

Matt didn't think he had ever seen Charlotte move so fast as he watched her jump up and book her way into Caroline's room.

Tears came to Charlotte's eyes as she saw Caroline sitting up in the bed and the blonde turned her head to give her friend one of her mega watt smiles.

Before Caroline could get a word out, Charlotte's arms were already wrapped tightly around her.

"Charlie, I can't breathe." Caroline chuckled out, but Charlotte caught the wince.

"Are you okay?" The chestnut haired girl asked panicked. "Oh my god, I hurt you."

Caroline shook her head.

"No I'm fine, just a bit sore."

Charlotte nodded and Caroline shuffled over, patting the spot besides her and Charlotte climbing right in.

The two friends sat laughing and talking until the door opened again not too long after.

"Jersey Shore's on." Caroline exclaimed to Bonnie.

Bonnie rushed forward and pulled Caroline into a hug.

"Careful, still a little sore."

"Sorry." Bonnie apologized.

"It's okay but they say I'm healing really quick." Caroline informed them.

"My turn." Matt said coming forward and kissing Caroline.

Charlotte gave a soft laugh and Bonnie began to cry from joy.

"Oh, isn't he just cute?" Caroline cheered, before noticing Bonnie. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm just so happy you're okay!"

"Oh, I love you guys!"

Charlotte put an arm around Caroline and pulled Bonnie forward who also grabbed Matt and the four joined in a group embrace.

"We love you." Bonnie reiterated.

Charlotte pulled from the hug and looked at the faces around her.

"Will you guys hate me if I told you I wanted to leave to go check on Tyler?"

Everyone shook their head and Charlotte stood up, heading to the door.

"I'll be there in a little bit." Bonnie told Charlotte as she left the room.

[]

After Charlotte had gone home to change for the wake of Mayor Lockwood, she pulled up outside the Lockwood mansion and saw Tyler on the porch greeting the townspeople who had come out to show their respects.

Tyler turned after shaking a guest's hand and caught sight of Charlotte walking up the sidewalk. He didn't realize until he looked at her just how much he missed her.

Charlotte walked up the steps until she stood right before Tyler; she knew what it was like to lose a parent. She lost both of hers and she knew that the last thing Tyler would want was people's pity.

Tyler just gave her a sad look. He didn't want to pretend with her. He never had to before so he wasn't going to start now.

Charlotte wrapped her slim arms around his neck and pulled him so that he was flush against her body.

The jock buried his face into the crook of her neck, holding her tightly to him and breathing in her honey and vanilla scent.

Being back in his arms, Charlotte would admit it. She had missed Tyler. She had missed him a lot.

Charlotte brought her hands to cup Tyler's neck and pressed a kiss to his ear and continued to press soft kisses across his cheek until she reached the corner of his mouth.

She then pulled away, looking into his eyes, her hands still in place. Her brows were furrowed and her eyes asked him if he was okay.

Tyler understood her clearly and gave a gentle nod.

"I'm fine." He told her, moving her hair off her shoulders. "I'll be alright. Thank you…for being here."

He pulled Charlotte in for another hug but the two broke apart when they heard a truck pull up close to the house.

Charlotte watched as a handsome man jumped out of the truck and she knew exactly who it was.

"So the black sheep returns." Tyler called out, grabbing Charlotte's hand and stepping forward.

"Tyler?"

"Yeah." He affirmed nodding his head.

"What happened to you?" The man asked. "In my mind you're twelve years old."

"Then that's two years older than the last time you saw me, Uncle Mason."

Charlotte pulled her hand from Tyler's and stepped back so that the two could embrace each other.

"Good to see you again." Mason laughed pulling away and his gaze shifted to Charlotte who was just watching them with a small smile.

She loved reunions.

"No!" Mason dragged out with shock as he looked her over, finally recognizing who she was. "Is that little Charlotte Gilbert?"

Charlotte's smile widened and she let out a laugh.

Mason stepped forward and grabbed her hand, spinning her around.

"Wow…" He got out speechless. "You have…definitely grown up."

He pulled the teenage girl forward and wrapped her in a tight hug.

Tyler let out a chuckle and stepped forward, placing a hand between the two in an embrace and trying to separate them.

"Alright you two," He teased. "Time to break it up."

[]

Damon was standing with Sheriff Forbes, watching Mason and Carol. He had learned that Mason was Mayor Lockwood's younger brother.

Damon caught sight of Charlotte and he excused himself from the sheriff, before he began to make his way towards her.

Just as he was about to reach her, Mason broke away from Carol and went over to Charlotte, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her away.

Damon's jaw clenched at this and turned, storming away. He'd get to Charlotte sooner or later.

[]

Charlotte was walking around the property with Mason, their arms looped through each others.

"So…." Mason started. "What's going on with you and Tyler? You two seemed kind of cozy when I showed up."

Charlotte choked on the air she was pulling into her lungs.

"We…we used to date. And then…things just fell apart." She tried to explain.

Mason nodded in understanding.

"Sooo….you're single?" He questioned suggestively.

The teenage girl put a flirty smile on her face. She was getting to be as bad as her sister.

"For now," She teased with a playful smirk, putting a hand on his shoulder and dragging it down his arm. "See you around Lockwood."

[]

Charlotte was trailing through the Lockwood mansion when she heard a noise coming from the room next to her.

She pushed open the door as quietly as she could and tiptoed her way into the room.

She saw Katherine bent over, grabbing her head in pain but it seemed she was only feigning it.

"I've been around a long time Bonnie." The vampire told the witch. "You're gonna have to do better than that."

Charlotte watched as Katherine caught Bonnie by the neck and slammed her up against the wall.

"Bonnie's powers may not affect you but maybe mine will." Charlotte snarled and her eyes flashed gold.

Katherine let go of Bonnie's neck and started to grab at her chest.

"I don't know what you're doing here, but you don't come in and threaten the people I love." The teenage girl growled. "Touch her again and I won't hesitate to kill you."

Her eyes shifted back to their normal hazel color and Katherine stared at her wide eyed.

Bonnie, using her powers, opened the door so that they were exposed to all of the other guests and Katherine left the room, Charlotte catching sight of Stefan following after her.

"Are you alright?" Charlotte asked stepping up to Bonnie and checking her friend's throat.

"Yea, what's going on?"

"Katherine has arrived in Mystic Falls and is already creating all sorts of drama." She explained. "Find Elena, she'll fill you in. We're not exactly talking at the moment."

Charlotte left the room, heading to the front door to go get some air.

"Charlie, where have you been?"

Charlotte winced. Aunt Jenna.

"I was at the hospital with Care and I left there to come here."

"You're avoiding home." Jenna stated.

"No. No I'm not." Total lie.

Jenna gave her a disbelieving look.

"We're gonna talk about this later."

"Sure." Charlotte agreed but she was going to do anything but.

Charlotte sidestepped her aunt before the woman could get another word out and walked out onto the porch, breathing in the fresh air.

She looked around and let out a groan as she saw Elena and Damon off to the side and she couldn't help but eavesdrop. Her face fell as she heard Elena cut the vampire down again.

Damon walked away from Elena and Charlotte decided to follow after him.

"And there you go being insensitive again. I guess that's something you're becoming a pro at sister." Charlotte admonished as she walked by her sister, not even bothering to stick around to hear Elena protest.

Catching up to Damon, Charlotte put a hand on his shoulder, grabbing his attention.

"Hi," He murmured.

"I heard….I heard what Elena said to you."

Damon pursed his lips and nodded.

"Listen, I'm sorry about last night and—"

"Damon, don't." Charlotte cut him off. "It's okay, I understand."

His blue eyes looked at her confused.

"Understand what?"

"That no matter what, Elena will always come first. But you shouldn't let Katherine get to you. This is what she wants…to drive you crazy."

Damon shook his head, and began to protest.

"Charlie that's not it…I promised you, you're first…always."

Charlotte's eyes started to water and she looked down.

"But I'm not Damon. Elena's _always_ come first for everything, I sort have gotten used to it by now."

Damon's phone began to ring and he held up a finger to Charlotte.

"Stay right there. We're talking about this **right** after!"

He picked up his phone and after an exchange of words, he hung up, looking at Charlotte with a crestfallen expression.

"Elena…" Charlotte chuckled knowingly. "It's okay Damon, go to her. I completely understand now."

She turned on her heel and began to walk away, Damon calling out her name from behind her. But she didn't turn back.

[]

Before walking back into the Lockwood mansion, Charlotte wiped the tears that had fallen and hoped it didn't look like she had been crying.

She was just going to go in, say goodbye to Tyler and leave. That was the plan.

Her hazel eyes scanned throughout the rooms off the house until she finally found him in his father's office talking with his uncle.

She gave a soft knock on the open door, leaning against as she grabbed the men's attention.

"I was just heading out; I wanted to see you one last time." She whispered walking into the room.

Tyler met her halfway, and she gave him a hug, nuzzling her nose into his shoulder.

"Call me, if you need me. Or if you just want to talk." She told him as she pulled away and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Charlotte just felt empty. Alone. Void of all emotions.

"Bye guys."

[]

It was a few hours later when Charlotte found herself sitting at the bar of the Grill. She had arrived there right after she had left the Lockwood's.

Right now, she wished she was a vampire so that she could compel the bartender to give her something strong instead of the Shirley temple sitting before her.

She stuck her fingers in the glass, pulling out a cherry and popping it into her mouth just as the stool next to her became occupied.

"What's on your mind?" She heard a familiar voice. "You look like your gonna hurt yourself with how hard you're thinking."

Charlotte turned her stool to face Mason.

"Nothing."

Mason knew better and asked her again.

"You can tell me." He told her, nudging her with an elbow.

"I just feel alone. I feel like I don't belong. And that scares me."

Mason looked at her and felt pity for the girl. Here was a beautiful girl sitting before him and she looked like someone had just kicked her puppy.

"Who broke your heart?" He asked her.

Charlotte shrugged, lifting her glass to her lips and taking a small sip.

"So this new guy comes to town, right?" She started to rant. "And I get close to him and he becomes…I don't know…kinda like my best friend. But he'll always choose this girl over me."

"Then that doesn't make him a very good friend, does it?" Mason stated/questioned.

She looked up at Mason, there eyes locking.

"I won't make the same mistake again." She explained further when Mason raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Letting someone into my heart so easily. When you let them in, you give them the power to break it."

Charlotte dropped her head, letting it hand in hurt.

Mason brought his hand forward and cupped her cheek, making her look at him.

"You're too young to be giving up." He told her as he allowed his thumb to graze over her cheek. "You'll find someone someday who **only** wants _you_."

Charlotte gave him a soft smile. He really had no idea how much those words soothed her. She hopped from the stool, steadying herself and bent forward, pressing her plump lips to Mason's cheek in a kiss.

"Thanks Mason."

Charlotte went to reach into her bag to grab money for her drink but Mason stopped her.

"It's on me."

Her smile widened and she nodded, bidding the older man goodbye and walked from the Grill and out to her car where she got in and drove her way home.

[]

When Charlotte arrived home, she was glad that Jenna was no where in sight to pester her. Slipping off her heels and holding them in her hand, she ventured upstairs and into her room.

After quietly shutting the door, she turned around and brought a hand to her chest.

"Damon." She huffed, looking at the vampire who was sitting on her bed. "I don't want to see you right now, so if you don't mind leaving…thanks."

She walked over to her closet and tossed her shoes inside, sliding her dress over her head and grabbing a sleep shirt to put on.

"Charlie…"

"Damon, don't! I want you to leave!"

Damon stood from the bed and started stumbling forward.

"I'm stupid…" He slurred. "I have a great girl who cares about me and I just keep choosing girls who don't even want me over her."

Charlotte's eyes didn't soften from their hardness.

"You're drunk! And you're obviously upset, that's not a good combination." She scolded.

"No, I'm not upset." Damon disagreed. "Upset is an emotion specific to those who care."

"You care. You care about Elena, but you're just too _stupid_ to realize that she's just stringing you along and that it will always be Stefan for her. She's just enjoying having two brothers going after her even though she won't admit it. And if you **didn't** care, you wouldn't be **here** right now. And **now**, I want you to leave."

Charlotte heard her door open and she turned to see Jeremy.

"Charlie, what's going on in here?"

"Nothing, Jer." She said, giving him a reassuring smile. "Go on back to bed."

"No it's not okay Charlie." Damon looked at Jeremy before turning back to Charlotte, locking his blue eyes onto her hazel orbs. "He wants to be a vampire."

Damon sped forward and pushed Jeremy against the wall.

"No! Damon, stop it!"

Damon's hand wrapped around Jeremy's throat tightly, and he began to choke the teenage boy.

Charlotte tried to throw Damon off of Jeremy, to cause the vampire pain but it wasn't working and she began to sob.

"Damon! Let go of him!"

"You want to turn off the pain? It's the easiest thing in the world. The part of you that cares just goes away, all you have to do is flip the switch and—"

Damon was suddenly thrown against the wall, Charlotte's shelf and everything on it falling to the ground with him.

Jeremy slid to the floor and Charlotte rushed towards him, cradling him to her chest.

Damon stood to his feet, seeming to have snapped from his rage and looked at Charlotte with sorrow.

"Charlie…"

Charlotte shook her head, tears strolling down her reddening cheeks and pressed a kiss to the crown of her brother's head, not even looking at the vampire.

"Get out!" She snarled, her body rushing with adrenaline. She felt as if she was going to burst from the rage, that, she herself was feeling.

A few moments later, Elena came rushing into the room, having heard the commotion and Stefan was right behind her.

"What happened?" She asked, seeing her younger siblings on the floor with their arms wrapped around each other tightly.

"Jer, go to your room. I'll come in a few minutes." Charlotte told him, pressing a final kiss to his head and rising from the floor, helping him up.

Jeremy nodded and left the room, leaving his older sisters and Stefan by themselves.

"Damon happened." Charlotte snarled. "He was just about to snap Jeremy's neck!"

"It was Katherine." Stefan told them. "She got under his skin; she undid everything that was good about him."

"There's nothing good about him!" Elena disagreed. "Stefan, not anymore. He just decided what he wants. He doesn't want to feel, he just wants to be hated, it's just easier that way. He got his wish."

"You want to blame this all on Katherine?" The younger Gilbert sister asked disbelieving while looking at her older sister. "You are just as much to blame!"

Charlotte stormed from her room and into Jeremy's.

"Move over." She ordered, climbing into bed with him like they used to do when they were little children.

Once they were situated, Jeremy rolled over into her side, resting his head on her chest.

Charlotte knew what he wanted and she began to run her fingers through his dark hair, her nails lightly scraping against his scalp. She stared straight ahead and even though her eyes were beginning to get heavy, she wouldn't close them.

She listened as Jeremy's breathing began to even out and he was fast asleep.

"I won't let anyone hurt you. _Ever_." She promised.

It was a few minutes later when she let her head fall back on the pillow and she slowly allowed sleep to overcome her.

* * *

**A/N:**

**(polyvore.)com/hmhylbm_aam/collection?id=1611373**

**Sorry for any errors and mistakes!**

I think we see a vulnerable side of Charlotte in this chapter, her insecurities. And we seea bit of jealous Charlotte when it comes to Elena and some sister drama. I guess she's finally realizing that Elena will always come first no matter. Too much? I want them to have an up and down relationship because if anyone has a sister like I do, you know that no sister/sister relationship is perfect.

And I changed the part of Damon snapping Jeremy's neck because I don't think with the type of person Charlotte is, that she would ever be able to forgive Damon for doing that to Jeremy.

I'm gonna start working on the next chapter and in that one, we're gonna find out about Charlotte in a way that I hope you'll enjoy!

**Review!**


	23. Chapter 22: Brave New World Rewritten

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed in the last chapter. And for those of you who got an email update earlier. I changed the ending of this chapter, so reread it :)**

* * *

Chapter 22: Brave New World

Charlotte was walking with Elena and Bonnie around the grounds of the school, thankfully, the latter was in between the sisters because if she wasn't Charlotte wasn't sure she would be able to keep her hands to herself.

"Katherine looked just like you, it was freakish." Bonnie explained.

"They pretty much _are_ the same people." Charlotte snarled, looking at the paper in her hand. "There's not much that's different."

Elena glared at her younger sister over Bonnie's head but Charlotte really didn't care; she had been ignoring Elena completely since this morning.

"She _is_ my ancestor." Elena told Bonnie before changing the subject. "Hey, I moved the student booth into the cafeteria."

"Your _vampire_ ancestor and she didn't just resemble you like a family member would." Bonnie said, bringing the topic back to Katherine. "She was you."

"In more ways than one."

"Will you stop?" Elena yelled at Charlotte. "And I don't know Bonnie, I can't explain it. It's creepy, that's all I got."

"How do you know she's not still out there pretending to be you?" Bonnie questioned with furrowed brows.

Charlotte scoffed.

"I don't but I could sit here and be tortured by the not-knowing or I could get these prizes to the ring toss." Elena didn't want to talk about vampires anymore.

"Have you talked to Damon since he almost…well since he _tried_ to kill Jeremy?"

"I haven't." Charlotte informed. "But Elena's answer might be different."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. The bickering going on between sisters was going to make her head explode.

"No Bonnie, I haven't and I won't and I don't want to talk about Damon or anything else that's vampire related, okay?" Elena ranted, pushing a bag full of plush toys to Bonnie. "I'm human. And I have to do human stuff. Otherwise, I'm going to go crazy. And I would really appreciate it if my _sister_ would **stop** taking cheap shots at me."

Bonnie turned to look at Charlotte, eyebrows raised.

"Can we just get along for one night?" She pleaded. "One night. That's all I'm asking. And then you can go back to being a bitch."

Charlotte thought about it for a second and finally nodded.

"For Caroline. We have to make her proud or she will kill us!" The younger girl decided.

Elena and Bonnie agreed with her.

"I don't know how she does all of this." Bonnie though aloud, waving her arms to the commotion going on around them. People were rushing to set up for the carnival.

"Well, because she's not human, obviously." Elena joked.

"Obviously."

The girls laughed and to any outsider looking in, they wouldn't think anything was wrong. And even though it seemed that way, tensions were still high between the sisters, and an even bigger storm was about to roll through.

[]

"Guys," Charlotte called out approaching her older sister and Bonnie later that night. "We lost a speaker in the karaoke booth."

The carnival was in full swing now.

"And the ring toss is out of Bart and Homer dolls and team Jacob T's." Bonnie listed.

Elena looked flustered.

"Okay, I can grab some from the science club." She informed them.

"Hey, all good Elena, take a beat, look around." Bonnie said, motioning to the scene before them. "This is a huge success."

"You mean I can do more than just wreak vampire havoc?" Elena questioned in a joking manner.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and determined that that was her cue to leave.

Elena complained that she didn't want to talk about vampires and yet here she was bringing them up.

Charlotte decided to just wander around and try to enjoy herself, but it just didn't happen.

Momentarily distracted, she collided with a hard chest and looked up to see Mason Lockwood.

"Hey you." Mason greeted, placing his large hands on Charlotte's upper arms to steady her.

"Hi, sorry…I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Mason laughed.

"I can see that. You also don't look like you're having fun." He pointed out.

"That's because I'm not." She admitted.

Mason grabbed her hand and began to pull her away.

"C'mon, I'll make sure we have some fun tonight."

[]

Twenty minutes later, Charlotte and Mason were walking around, picking at the cotton candy in Charlotte's hand and laughing about some of the games they had played.

They finally found themselves standing around with a bunch of people, watching Tyler arm wrestle.

"He's good." She murmured to Mason, seeing Tyler slam another arm down.

Mason looked down at her to see her gaze unwavering on Tyler. Again, he reached for her hand and pulled her, this time towards the arm wrestling table.

"I bet I could beat you." Mason said once they reached Tyler.

Charlotte chuckled and looked at Mason.

"I don't know about that Mason." Charlotte began in a teasing manner. "Tyler's pretty good."

Mason's face grew a smirk and he looked at the chestnut haired girl suggestively.

"I bet you anything that I'm better."

Mason sat down in the chair and grasped Tyler's hand with his own. She could see that both men were putting in all their strength, but Mason easily bested Tyler.

Mason threw Charlotte a wink and Tyler rose from his seat.

"Okay, he's the champ." He called out, accepting defeat. "Who wants to go next?"

It was quiet for a moment, everyone around in contemplation. If they couldn't beat Tyler, then they certainly didn't stand a chance against Mason.

"Stefan wants a go."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and let out a sigh when she heard him. Turning to the direction it came from, she saw Damon and Stefan.

"Get him Stef!" Damon hooted as Stefan made his way over to Mason.

"My brother over there thinks I can beat you." He spoke as he sat down.

"Your brother's wrong."

Charlotte knew that Mason didn't stand a chance. Stefan was a vampire. Mason was human.

"Good luck Mason." She wished.

"Believe me sweetheart." Mason stated knowingly. "I won't need it."

The teenage girl stormed over to Damon, her stare hard.

"What the _hell_ are you up to?"

Damon gripped her shoulders and spun her around, pointing to the two that began to arm wrestle.

"Just watch."

She fixed her gaze upon Stefan and Mason. Her expression one of boredom.

Charlotte could easily see that Stefan was putting in some of his supernatural strength and Mason was putting in hard pressure of his own. Her eyes widened when Mason slammed Stefan's arm down.

That wasn't possible.

Stefan walked over to the duo after his loss and Damon began his lecture, causing Charlotte to turn and walk away.

Just as she was walking past the arm wrestling table, a hand reached out grabbing her wrist and she was spun into a firm chest. A finger lifted her chin and her hazel orbs locked with Mason's.

"Told you I wouldn't need luck."

Swoon. That's what Charlotte felt like she was going to do.

"So, Mr. Lockwood, tell me…what is your secret?"

She smized, hoping it made her look sexy and that perhaps Mason would tell her how he beat Stefan.

"Hmm…maybe I'll tell you one day."

"Well, I'll be waiting as patiently as one can be." She flirted.

Charlotte was suddenly torn from Mason's arms and dragged away.

"Damon!" She shouted, attracting stony looks from people around them. "I was kind of in the middle of something."

"Yeah, well quite frankly, **I don't care**!" He told her, gripping her even tighter and walking more quickly. "We have a bigger problem!"

Damon pulled her all the way to an empty classroom, depositing her in there with Stefan before leaving again.

"What's going on?" She inquired, but Stefan only shrugged his shoulders.

He didn't have any idea. But boy did they get the shock of their life five minutes later.

[]

"How did this happen?" Stefan asked as he paced around the classroom.

Charlotte couldn't believe what she had just heard. Caroline couldn't be a vampire. She just couldn't.

"Well, I fed her blood and Katherine obviously killed her…and A plus B equals…" Damon explained.

"But why?" Elena questioned.

"Because Katherine is a manipulative nasty little slut!" Damon replied, his words laced with venom.

Charlotte shook her head. They weren't getting anywhere. They were so focused on Katherine that Caroline took the back burner.

She stood straight from the desk she was perched against and walked from the classroom, ignoring the three as they called her name.

She remembered what happened when Vicki Donovan was turned; she would _never_ let the same thing happen to her best friend.

So she searched. She searched everywhere for Caroline and when she finally found her, her heart broke at the sight.

Charlotte knew it wasn't exactly smart to approach a newly turned vampire, especially since Stefan and Damon were over a century old and it took them time to get used to her scent. But she had to comfort Caroline.

She went to step forward when Damon arrived and approached a blood covered Caroline.

"He's dead. I killed him." She cried. "What's wrong with me?"

"Hey, hey it's OK." Damon cooed. "I can help you."

"You can?"

"Yeah, I have to." He informed her.

"What are you going to do?" Caroline asked as she stood up from the ground and in front of him.

"The only thing I can do. I'm going to kill you."

"Please don't!" Caroline begged. "I don't want to die!"

"Yeah, but you're already dead."

"No! I'm not! Don't say that, OK! Just help me!"

Charlotte went to step forward as Caroline started to sob again but stopped when Damon she heard Damon agree to help her.

"OK? Just help me please! Please, please!"

But then she sprang into action when she saw Damon pull Caroline into his arms, aiming to shove a stake into her back. She wasn't fast enough because Stefan zipped past her and the stake was shoved from Damon's hand.

Elena came running up behind her and the two made their way to Caroline.

"Get away from me!" The blonde hollered at Elena. "You killed me!"

Charlotte knew that Caroline thought Elena was Katherine, so she tried to explain the truth.

"Care, that wasn't Elena!"

"No! Then why did she look like her?" Caroline asked crying. "And why did she do this to me?"

Caroline seemed to snap from her fit and her gaze was completely focused on Charlotte's throat.

"Stefan," Elena yelled, seeing the look in Caroline's eyes. "We need to get her inside."

"It's okay Caroline, come with me." Stefan said taking Caroline's hand in his own.

"She'll die. It's only a matter of time." Damon told them.

"Yeah, maybe so. But it's not gonna happen tonight." Stefan exclaimed.

"Oh yeah it is."

And then before she could blink, Damon picked up the stake and was headed for Caroline. Charlotte did the only thing she could think to do to save her friend, and jumped in front of her.

Damon didn't have time to slow down and he froze, seeing Charlotte try to take in air. Her hazel eyes were staring into his own blue ones with unshed tears.

Elena cried out and Stefan had to hold Caroline back as Damon caught Charlotte in mid fall, gently laying her on the ground of the parking lot.

"No! No, no, no." Damon repeated over and over again.

Charlotte began to choke on her own blood that was pooling in her throat and Damon, panicking, couldn't think fast on his feet.

"Do something!" Elena sobbed. "You have to do something!"

That seemed to snap Damon from his thoughts as he grasped the stake, wrenching it from Charlotte's chest, her cream colored sweater soaked with blood.

He brought his wrist to his mouth and bit down, but by the time it was placed against Charlotte's lips, he was too late. Her heart had already stopped beating.

Elena rushed forward; falling to her knees beside her sister and picking her head up, placing it into her lap.

She stroked Charlotte's hair back as she cried. Stefan didn't know what to do; hold Caroline back, or comfort his girlfriend?

Damon fell back on his rear when Elena looked up at him, her eyes holding more hatred than he had ever seen in his life.

He was broken. Silent tears were streaming down his cheeks. He killed her. His best friend was dead. Her blood covered his hands.

Stefan watched on as Elena bent over her sister, pleading for her to come back.

"She was mad at me!" She cried, looking up at Stefan. "She hated me! We never got to fix things! What am I supposed to tell Jeremy…and Jenna?"

Stefan shook his head, not knowing how to comfort her.

Caroline just gazed at her best friend in silence. Everything had all happened so fast. And she could feel her fangs starting to break through her gums, her hunger was slowly consuming her that she couldn't feel anything else.

But through all the tears and sorrow, Charlotte was waking up, albeit, somewhere entirely different.

_When she opened her eyes, Charlotte saw a hazy white glow. It looked like she was in the clouds. _

"_We must speak. We don't have much time." _

_Charlotte gasped and sat up, hearing the voice that had just spoken._

_It was her. It was her own voice._

"_They're calling us Charlie these days, are they not? That's a strange nickname for a girl."_

"_What…how…how is this possible?" She stuttered, rising to her feet and staring wide eyed at the vision standing before her._

_In a snow white toga, clasped together with ornate gold clips, was her own self. _

"_Where am I?" Charlotte asked, looking around her._

"_We're standing on Mount Olympus. This used to be our home thousands of centuries ago." _

"_Who are you?"_

"_I am you. We are one in the same. We are the same people Charlie." _

_Charlotte looked at the woman standing before her. Well, she was looking at herself. A Grecian version of herself._

"_I should be dead right now!" She exclaimed._

"_But you're not. You're immortal Charlotte. Starting now, you will go back and you will be an immortal being." _

_Charlotte let out a sob, shaking her head fiercely. _

"_I don't understand!"_

_She stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Charlotte's arm, leading her over to a throne. _

"_Before the gods reined, we…I was alone. I grew tired and lonely, so I created life. My children…**your** children. They became titans as they were first called. And the titans had children and they became power hungry. When their children were old enough…I helped them to defeat their parents." Grecian Charlotte explained. "I made them gods. But it was a foolish decision to make."_

_Charlotte was trying to absorb as much as she could. _

"_I put life on Earth, and, mankind's prayers kept the gods immortal, kept them alive. The gods, they had power, and sometimes they didn't use that power for good. I'm going to tell you a story Charlie. The story of where, all of this, where **we**, began."_

"_To be immortal, means not only to live for eternity, but it also means you're thriving with life—"_

"_So much that, to sacrifice oneself, you have the power to save the entirety of mankind?" Charlotte interrupted._

"_Yes. And I'm going to tell you of our downfall. I'm sure you know the story of Pandora? I was absolutely furious with Zeus when she was created. He had her created as a punishment for our children, a punishment for something that had no control over."_

_Charlotte nodded, she knew this myth._

"_The myth goes that she was created because Prometheus stole fire to give to mankind."_

"_It is not a myth." Grecian Charlotte chuckled. "But yes. That is why Pandora was created. I was down on Earth. I liked being around man, to…to watch how they lived their lives, knowing that they didn't have forever. Sometimes I wished that I could have made them all immortal, but I knew that wasn't a possibility. That's why you are as compassionate as you. Because that's the way any parent would be with their children."_

"_I'm 17. I'm not anyone's parent!" _

_The original Charlotte shook her head, a small smile playing at her lips._

"_But you are. Now let's get back to the story. They created Pandora while I was away from the Heavens and each god gave her a gift, they wanted her to be the perfect woman. Hephaestus molded her from clay, Aphrodite taught her beauty and femininity, Athena crafts, and Hermes taught her to be deceitful, he taught her to be stubborn."_

"_But the gods also gave her another gift. The gift of curiosity. And then they gave her a jar. She was told that it contained special gifts, but she was ordered to never open the box. And then, they thrust her upon mankind. I watched as Pandora tried so hard to contain her curiosity, but it became too much, and she opened the jar. And I saw as every hardship and illness, the vermin and death that were hidden inside this jar came out. I saw how scared she was."_

"_And she placed the lid back on top of it as quickly as she could. But there was something left inside of the bottom of that jar. Hope. It was the will of Zeus; he wanted to teach mankind a lesson. He wanted to teach my children that they could not disobey him. He wanted them to suffer until they started to pray to the gods again. But it didn't turn out that way. I wanted to punish Pandora so badly, but I couldn't, because it wasn't her fault. The gods thought that with all the evil set upon mankind, it would make them pray. But instead, our children destroyed temples, and statues that were dedicated to the gods and their beliefs started to crumble."_

"_Hades came from the Underworld where he had been cast away to rule and he told Zeus he would get mankind to turn back into the gods' arms. The evil only became worse. Pandora's jar went missing, so I needed to become mankind's hope, I needed to protect them, to save them. I needed to insure that for generations to come, that they would survive and keep the cycle of love going."_

"_So I gave my life for theirs. I killed the gods, who were my own flesh and blood to end the evil in the world, that otherwise, could have never been undone. It was one of the hardest things I had ever had to do. But it was what was needed to be done. They had become monsters. I needed to give mankind a chance, a chance at life, a chance to live only for themselves."_

"_I was hoping to end all evil, but it only kept appearing, and I knew that I needed them to always be safe if it was something that they could not handle. So I made sure that in times of great darkness, that light would be born to defeat it."_

"_We've been reborn to protect our children for thousands of years; we give our immortality, our life, our light, to always keep them safe."_

"_I don't want this! I didn't ask for this!" Charlotte cried out._

"_You don't have a choice!" The Grecian Charlotte screamed. "Charlotte the last time you were reborn, it wasn't supposed to happen. But fate had it in store for you, and you will discover the reason why very soon."_

_She took a deep breath before continuing._

"_Darkness is coming Charlotte, and you need to prepare yourself because your heart will want to take the lead and you **need** to do what is best; not what you **want**! You cannot be selfish, that's not who you are, that's not who we are! You live, you **fight**, and you die for your children! That's the way it's always been, it's the way it has to be!"_

"_Love, Charlotte, is the most powerful feeling in the world! But it's also the greatest weakness. It could be your biggest downfall."_

_Charlotte scoffed._

"_Isn't love why I always die in the first place? What makes it any different?"_

"_Because, love, Charlotte. It makes you human. And that's when you die, you die for love." She told her. "It's time for you to go Charlotte, back to your life. So remember my words. You need to prepare yourself for what's to come. You're powers will be at full strength when you return. Use them wisely." _

"_But what am I?"_

"_**You're light Charlotte…and you're love**!"_

_Charlotte could see every thing fading and she wanted to protest, she wasn't finished asking questions. She didn't understand what that meant. She didn't understand what she was. But it was too late, she found herself falling into a black abyss again._

[]

"Caroline?" Bonnie asked as she came walking onto the scene.

"It's okay, come on." Stefan cooed beginning to pull the blonde away.

Bonnie sucked in a shocked breath when Caroline turned around.

"No, you're not." The witch whispered in disbelief at the blood that covered Caroline's face. "You can't be."

Bonnie stepped forward and grabbed Caroline's arm and became horrified at the feeling she got.

"Bonnie?" Caroline asked shakily.

Hearing a sob, Bonnie averted her eyes to see Elena hunched over Charlotte's body and then she saw another not too far away. It was Carter.

"Oh god!"

"Bonnie…" The blonde cried out.

"No…" She whispered, tears springing to her orbs and she slowly walked forward to her friends not even realizing that Stefan was leading Caroline away. "What happened? How did this happen?"

"Damon went to stake Caroline but Charlie ran in front to save her." Elena cried out tripping over her words. "He tried to save her but she was already gone! She's dead Bonnie! My sister's dead!"

Tears fell over and strolled down Bonnie's cheeks, she couldn't stand to look at Charlotte anymore but she made the mistake of looking back to Carter.

"I can't believe this is happening." She murmured with a shake of her head.

Damon rounded the corner, a stony expression on his face. He just didn't want to feel. With a shovel in hand, he approached the girls.

"Come on, don't pout about it, I've got a body to bury." He told them, motioning to Carter's body.

"And what about Charlie, Damon? You're just gonna toss her away?" Elena growled. "Like she's garbage? She cared about you Damon…when no one else did. And now she's dead because of you!"

Damon's expression didn't change. He already knew that it was his fault.

"I thought you were calling the shots, no?" He said to the oldest Gilbert smartly before turning to look at Carter. "It sucks to be you, buddy."

And then everything happened so fast, Damon doubled over, falling to the ground and holding his head in pain. Bonnie was giving him aneurism

Damon rolled to his back, crying out in pain even louder than before. Water suddenly came from a hose and began to trail towards Damon.

"I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt." Bonnie reminded the vampire.

"Bonnie, it wasn't his fault." Elena tried to tell her but the witch wouldn't listen.

"Everything that happens is his fault Elena. Or have you forgotten already that your sister is dead because of him?"

Fire. She lit the water on fire. And it was traveling towards Damon.

"Bonnie stop it!" Elena shouted, the fire beginning to burn Damon.

It was the only thing that separated the two friends.

"Bonnie, Bonnie, stop it!" She kept telling the witch. "You're going to kill him!"

Bonnie's focus was still on trying to burn Damon to death, but her concentration was swiftly broken and the fire dissipated when Elena jumped over the fire, grabbing Bonnie's arm.

"Why did you stop me?" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Because this isn't us!" Elena told her. "Bonnie, this can't be us!"

But Bonnie wasn't paying attention to Elena; her eyes were focused on what was going on a few yards away. Seeing the witch distracted, Elena and Damon followed her line of vision. Their own eyes landed on Charlotte.

A white glow had surrounded the chestnut haired beauty. And as her body slowly began to absorb it, they watched as her hazel eyes snapped open.

Charlotte let out a groan and brought a hand to her chest, the only thing she felt was blood. There was no open wound. Trying to lift herself from the ground, she was knocked down again as Elena wrapped her in her arms.

"H..ho..how is this..." Elena couldn't finish her sentence, she didn't care how, she was just happy that her sister was alive.

Charlotte hugged her sister back just as tightly. She just wanted to feel.

"I want to go home."

And think about what she had just discovered.

"I'll take you."

Charlotte looked over Elena's shoulder to see Bonnie standing there, relieved tears in her eyes.

Elena stood, helping Charlotte to her feet and guiding her over to Bonnie.

"I just have to get something from my locker and I'll be home." Elena informed her.

Before the girls left, Charlotte turned her head, looking over her shoulder at Damon. You could see that his mind was racing, wondering what had just happened. But he was more relieved than anything. She was alive. He didn't know how, but she was.

[]

Bonnie pulled up in front of the Gilbert house and Charlotte unbuckled her seatbelt. She just sat there for a few minutes.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked, breaking the silence.

"I met her." Charlotte answered, needing to tell someone. There was really no one she trusted more than Bonnie and Caroline. And Bonnie was here.

"Who? Charlie, who did you meet?"

Charlotte was baffled.

"I don't know. Me? Her? The first me?" She listed off. "I don't know what to call her."

Bonnie turned in the driver's seat to face her friend and reached over to grab Charlotte's hand with her own, giving a gentle squeeze.

"Do you think I'm selfish?"

"What?" Bonnie exclaimed. "Charlie, you're the most selfless person I know. Sometimes I think you _need_ to be selfish."

"She told me that I couldn't be selfish, that I couldn't follow my heart." Charlotte whispered void of emotion.

Bonnie took her friend's words in. If anyone knew Charlotte, the only thing she ever wanted was love.

"Don't listen to her, she doesn't know you." The witch told her.

"But I am her, Bonnie. She is me. Bonnie, there's something big coming. I don't know what it is. But we need to get ready for it."

"Katherine?"

Charlotte shook her head as she opened the car door.

"It's something much bigger."

[]

Charlotte climbed out of the shower, drying off and slipped on an old button up shirt she had stolen from Tyler when they had been dating.

Walking out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, she stopped in her tracks. Damon, with his shoulders slumped and head hung, was sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Your brother was going to kill me tonight." He spoke, having heard her enter the room.

"Well that's only fair, no?" Charlotte told him. "You were about to kill him the other night."

Charlotte stepped towards her bed, pulling back the blankets and about to crawl in but Damon's hand shot out, grabbing her wrist and he pulled her to stand in front of him.

His hands came to the top of her shirt, slowly popping open the buttons until her bare chest was exposed to him. Charlotte was about to pull away and cover herself, but one of Damon's arms wrapped around her waist, stilling her.

With his free hand, Damon placed his palm against the unmarred skin right below Charlotte's breast. Right where he had plunged the stake. Removed his hand, he placed a soft kiss to the skin before resting his ear against her chest, listening to the steady beating of her heart.

Both of his arms now gripped her tightly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered with silent tears. "I'm so sorry."

Charlotte lifted her arms, bring one to rest on his back and the other, she weaved her hand through his raven locks.

"You need to go Damon." She whimpered out. She wasn't ready to talk to him.

Pulling away from her, Damon nodded and leaned down, pressing a kiss to her brow before with a whip of air, he was gone.

Charlotte buttoned her shirt back up, before looking around her bedroom. She didn't want to be alone.

She just wanted to be held.

Leaving her own bedroom, she walked across the hall and knocked on her Aunt Jenna's door and opened it, slipping inside when Jenna told her to come in.

"Charlie, what's the matter?" Jenna asked one she saw the look on her niece's face.

Jenna had seen Charlotte go through a lot of emotions before but the girl before her was one she had never witnessed and it rocked her to her core.

Charlotte looked completely and utterly broken.

Jenna opened her arms, a sign for Charlotte to come to her and when she crawled into the bed, Jenna held her tightly against her chest, stroking her damp chestnut hair.

"I'm scared." The teenage girl whimpered.

"Of what baby? What are you scared of?" Jenna cooed, trying to coax the answer out of her.

"Death." She murmured. "I don't want to die. I'm not ready to die."

Jenna didn't know where this was coming from and she didn't know what to do.

"Charlotte, you've got your whole life ahead of you. You're not going anywhere anytime soon."

Jenna just held Charlotte close, running her fingers through her hair like her mother had done when she was a child, humming to her a song from her childhood until the tears stopped and she slowly drifted to sleep from exhaustion.

_Charlotte was sitting on the floor in the library. Her gaze locked on the orange and yellow flames of the roaring fire. _

"_Sweetheart, you look to be thinking really hard." She heard his voice chuckle from behind her. _

_Niklaus came and sat behind her, his legs on either side as he pulled her back against his chest. He knew something was serious when she didn't laugh._

"_What is it, love?" He whispered in her ear. "What's on your mind?"_

_Charlotte grabbed one of his calloused hands that was wrapped around her waist and began to play with his fingers._

"_Where do you think we go when we die?"_

_Niklaus' brows furrowed. Why was she thinking of such a thing?_

"_Why are you thinking of that Charlotte?"_

_She shrugged her shoulders, eyes still locked on the dancing flames._

"_I'm scared. I don't want to be alone." She admitted. "I don't want to be without you."_

_He turned her so that he could stare into her hazel orbs with his blue ones._

"_You will never be alone, my love." Niklaus told her sincerely. "I will always be with you. I can not live a day without you. And if I go first, I will be in the after life waiting for you."_

_Charlotte nodded and the blonde haired man lifted a hand and wiped away a stray tear with his thumb._

"_Don't you ever wish we could live forever? Be together for eternity?" She questioned earnestly._

_Niklaus leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before resting his own against it and gazing into her eyes._

"_We will be together forever, whether it is in life, or in death."_

_And he sealed his promise with a kiss._

* * *

**A/N:**

**(polyvore.)com/hmhylbm_aam/collection?id=1611373**

Sorry for any mistakes and errors. And sorry for the non flowy-ness of the chapter…kinda choppy.

So how do you guys feel about me skipping some episodes? I was thinking about skipping the next four because I think that the only important thing that happens in those is that we find out about the werewolves and the aftermath of that? So what do you guys think? If you like this idea, the next chapter will be the Masquerade episode.

So this chapter….I'm kind of in love with Greek mythology if you can't tell, and we get the back story on Charlotte after Damon kills her and she meets the first version of herself. She's kinda bossy. And I'm gonna start thinking of what some of her powers should be? Anything you'd like to see?

I changed the ending because I felt like Charlotte shouldn't have forgiven Damon so easily; I mean he did kill her even if it was an accident. And I felt like Jenna and Charlotte just needed to have a moment together. I love Jenna.

**Review, tell me what you think**…please?


	24. Chapter 23: Masquerade Pt1

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and for those who gave suggestions as to what they'd like to see Charlotte do, I hope you enjoy and we'll be seeing more of those powers later :) And I broke Masquerade into 2 chapters, the second half should be posted in a few days.**

* * *

Chapter 23: Masquerade Pt.1

After tidying up the house and preparing it for when Jenna would get home, Charlotte stood at the counter, her hand fluttering over a glass of water, watching as beads of liquid floated around in the air.

Things had been completely chaotic ever since the night Charlotte had met her past self.

She had been keeping to herself. She didn't want to be involved with the vampires anymore. The only vampire she wanted to be involved with is Caroline. She had been her best friend since they were children. And that wasn't going to change now.

Her relationship with her sister had been going well, but it was going down the gutter again after Katherine had compelled Jenna to stab herself.

Katherine had given her one simple task, break up with Stefan and the couple thought that they could trick her into believing that they had broken up. The vampire had been around for over 500 years; she wasn't that easy to fool.

It was becoming more and more clear to Charlotte that Elena only cared about herself, about her own happiness and well being.

And she hadn't spoken to Damon since that night either. Just as she was going to let him back in, he went and killed Mason, and that was the last straw for her.

It didn't matter if he was a werewolf and that he was dangerous to vampires. He was still a living person. A human being. One of Charlotte's children and Damon had killed him without as much as a second thought, but not before he tortured him.

Vampires. Witches. Werewolves. What else could be out there?

And then there was Bonnie. She had been a lifesaver to Charlotte. She was the one person that the hazel eyed girl had confided in about what Grecian Charlotte had told her and the witch was helping her to figure out what powers she held and how to control them.

_Bonnie and Charlotte were deep in the woods trekking until they had found a small clearing. _

_Charlotte stopped in the center of it, glancing at her surroundings with furrowed brows._

"_What is it?" Bonnie asked once she'd seen her friend's face._

"_It's nothing." Charlotte reassured. "I just feel like I've been here before." _

_She clapped her hands, an expectant smile on her face. _

"_Should we get started?"_

_Bonnie nodded and dropped the bag she was holding in her hand as she pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. When she lifted her head, she saw Charlotte giving her an amused look. _

"_What?" Bonnie questioned rhetorically. "I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of the things you might be able to do."_

"_I didn't say anything. So what's on that list anyway?"_

_Bonnie motioned for Charlotte to come over so that she could see the words written across the paper._

"_So I was thinking; you threw Damon, right?" Bonnie inquired, and once Charlotte nodded, she continued. "I can throw Damon, but I don't think we do it in the same way. You were alive when the gods were Charlie. And Grams said that nature serves **you**. So maybe that means that you can control nature? Maybe you have power over the elements. Just like the powers you gave the gods." _

_Charlotte looked at Bonnie with an unbelieving expression._

"_I know you didn't want this. And I know this is scary. But I'm here to help." _

_Bonnie could see the tears forming in her friends eyes. All of this information was thrust up her and she was just expected to accept it. The witch moved forward and pulled Charlotte into a tight hug._

_There embrace lasted for a few moments before Bonnie noticed flowers beginning to bloom from the dirt and a light drizzle of rain began to sprinkle from the sky. _

_When they pulled apart, Bonnie took in the scenery around her while Charlotte tilted her head back, relishing in the cool drops that gently hit her face. _

"_I think this is nature's way of trying to comfort you." Bonnie whispered as she walked over and pulled a tulip from the ground. "It senses that you're upset."_

_Tulips were Charlotte's favorite flower. And to anyone who knew the teenage girl, it was no secret that she loved the rain. _

_Charlotte's eyes were closed as she let out a deep breath, her face still tilted towards the clouds. She hadn't felt this much at peace in a long time and she wished she could just freeze this feeling in time. This moment. _

"_Charlie," Bonnie's voice was one of astonishment and it caused Charlotte's hazel eyes to snap open but her expression took an amazed one. _

_Her eyes met Bonnie's and both of the teenage girls' laughter rang out to the forest._

_It was like someone had pressed pause. The raindrops had frozen in place. _

_Charlotte slowly raised her arm, her hand was palm side up, and watched as the raindrops separated into smaller ones as her arm moved through them. _

_Her laughter became louder as she spread both of her arms out to her side and spun around in circles like she used to do as a child. _

"_You did this Charlie!" Bonnie giggled. _

_Charlotte stopped spinning and looked at her friend, a wide smile planted on her face. _

_Maybe this wasn't so bad. Maybe she could get used to this. _

_The chestnut haired girl finally felt free. She felt like she could breathe. And in that moment, all the raindrops fell to the forest floor. Nature had done its job. _

Charlotte was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a car pull into the driveway.

"Hey guys." She greeted with a false smile when she walked outside onto the porch.

Jenna gave her a smile before telling the teenagers to stop fussing as they helped her up the porch and into the house.

"The doctors said that you have to take it easy." Elena reminded their aunt as Matt began to walk her over to the couch.

"Yeah, you don't want to rip your stitches, hemorrhage and die, alright?" Jeremy asked following after them after he had closed the front door.

"Yeah." Jenna said as she rolled her eyes. "The only thing I'm going to die from is embarrassment."

A chuckle came from Charlotte.

"I think that would be a first Jen." She commented. "I don't think anyone's ever died from that before."

"I walked into a knife. How does somebody do that?"

"It was a freak accident." Elena stated, making Charlotte roll her eyes.

Jeremy nodded his head in agreement to his eldest sister.

"It happens."

"Yeah, I mean, I've done it like twenty times at the grill." Matt lied as he tried to cheer Jenna up.

Jenna let out a laugh but it soon turned into a wince as she brought a hand to hold her stitched up stomach.

"Okay, I'm being nice." The blonde haired boy admitted as he eased the older woman down onto the couch. "Alright, easy…"

Matt turned around, a brown bag in his hand as he looked questioningly around.

"What should I do with this?" He asked.

Charlotte quickly reached out and grabbed the bag of food from him.

"I got it."

The younger girl made her way into the kitchen, wanting to get away from her sister as quickly as possible. For every step they took forward, they ended up taking two more back.

"Charlie," Elena called out softly as she followed after. "Talk to me!"

Charlotte only slammed the bag down on the counter and starting pulling the contents out.

"Me and Stefan are done. I don't know what else you want from me! What do you want me to say?"

"You and Stefan should have been finished the first minute Katherine threatened our family! But you were too stupid and naïve to think that you could play her. It's **your** fault that Jenna got hurt!" Charlotte whispered harshly.

Elena looked at her sister wide eyed. She was shocked by her outburst; she was shocked that Charlotte would blame her.

Seeing that Elena wasn't going to say anything, Charlotte pushed past her and out of the kitchen, bumping into Jeremy on her way through the hall.

She ventured up to her room and tossed herself onto her bed where mountains of blankets were piled, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

_A squeal of laughter was traveling through the air and Niklaus brought a finger to his lips, signaling for her to quiet down. _

"_Shh, you wouldn't want to wake father, now would you?"_

_Charlotte shook her head and brought her hand up to push a curl that had fallen into his eyes. _

_The couple was lying on the floor of the library in front of the roaring fire. Niklaus mesmerized by the reflection of the flames dancing along his lover's sun kissed skin. _

"_What do you think our babies will look like?" She whispered, and she felt a shiver run down her spine as his blue orbs met her hazel ones. _

"_Whatever they look like, I hope they have your eyes." Niklaus told her with a lazy smile. _

"_My eyes? There's nothing special about them."_

_The man shook his head at her and cupped her cheek, making sure that she wouldn't look away from him._

"_They're beautiful." He insisted. "They remind me of the fall; when all the leaves change colors and fall from their branches. That's exactly what they're like. A sea of autumn leaves, so deep." _

_Charlotte's teeth began to show as her smile grew._

"_And they're filled with so much love, so much emotion. And when you smile," He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "Like you're doing now, they light up, as bright as the moon…as bright as the morning sun. Your eyes tell me everything I need to know."_

"_I love you," She whispered, because those three words were the only one's she could come up with at that moment. _

"_Say it again." He demanded softly, needing to hear those words fall from her lips._

"_I love you. I love you. I love you." Charlotte repeated with a sweet smile on her lips._

_Niklaus bent his head so that he could brush his lips against hers._

"_And I love you."_

Charlotte awoke to the beeping of her cell phone on her nightstand.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she reached over and grabbed it, seeing it was a text from Bonnie.

**Meet me at the Salvatore's.**

Tossing her phone to the side, she climbed from her bed and rummaged through her closet for a pair of shoes. Once she had the heels strapped to her feet, she grabbed her bag and phone from the bed and left the house as quietly as she could.

[]

When she pulled up to the Salvatore boarding house Bonnie was leaning up against her car waiting for her.

"What's going on?" Charlotte asked when she stepped out of the car. "Why am I here?"

"Stefan called." Bonnie informed her. "He told me to bring the grimoire."

"For what?"

Bonnie just shrugged her shoulders. She didn't have a clue.

"Well then, let's go."

Bonnie knocked on the front door and Caroline opened it less than a minute later.

"Hey, come on in."

Bonnie and Charlotte stepped over the threshold and the latter gave the blonde a wide smile.

"You're doing really well."

Caroline nodded her head.

"That's only because every time I'm around you I think of you dead and I don't want to eat you because I don't want to be the reason you die." She ranted. "But believe me, if you weren't my best friend. I probably would've killed you by now. You smell _really_ good."

Charlotte gave a laugh at how earnest Caroline sounded.

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing we're best friends."

"I got Stefan's message." Bonnie told the blonde who nodded and began to lead the two down the hall.

"Hey, you brought the grimoire, thank you." Stefan said when he saw the witch, and then his eyes flickered to Charlotte. "And you brought Charlie."

Peeking around Stefan's form, the two teenage girls saw Alaric and Damon conversing next to a table full of weapons.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked with furrowed brows.

"We're gonna kill Katherine." Jeremy stated coming into the room.

"What are you doing here?!"

Jeremy stepped back at the heat of his older sister's stare.

"We can't let her get away with hurting Jenna, Charlie. Elena may be naïve but I'm not! And neither are you." He finally found the courage to explain.

"I can explain." Stefan cut in and Charlotte looked at him with a raised eyebrow, a sign for him to continue.

"Please." Bonnie looked up at him, with the same expression as her friend.

"We're gonna kill Katherine."

Damon turned around from where he was standing with Alaric and his gaze locked on Charlotte.

He hadn't spoken to her since that night he came to her room and she told him to leave. He only saw her after she fell asleep and he sneaked into her room on some nights afterwards.

"What is she doing here?" He asked the witch. "She could get hurt."

Charlotte's icy glare focused on Damon.

"I'm not as fragile as you think I am."

Just as she said this, the fireplace lit, flames blazing high.

Everyone's eyes followed her form as Charlotte walked over to the heat.

"Charlie." Damon spoke and went to step forward to pull her back as the girl reached her hand into the flames. He thought that she was crazy, that she was going to burn herself but his eyes only widened when she pulled her hand back out, a smaller fire roaring in the palm of her hand.

Bonnie wasn't surprised, she already knew that Charlotte could do this, so did Caroline because the two girls had confided in her. But the four guys in the room watched with shocked expressions as Charlotte brought her other hand over the flames and shaped it into a ball.

"Wanna play catch?" She asked Damon with a quirked brow and a smirk on her face.

_After Charlotte had made the rain stop, Bonnie walked over to the bag she had previously dropped to the forest floor and searched through it._

_When he hand finally came out, she was holding a lighter._

"_You controlled water; now let's see what you can do with fire."_

_Charlotte raised her hand and waved it around until she got Bonnie's attention._

"_Yeah, hi. I don't think that's a very good idea. We're standing in the woods. Fire and woods. Not a good mix." _

"_You can control it Charlie. You won't let it get out of hand." Bonnie reassured her. "Besides, we'll never know if you can do this if we don't try."_

_Charlotte gave the witch a dumbfounded look._

"_And if I can't? How do we explain the forest fire?"_

"_You act like I'm gonna set the woods on fire." Bonnie got out with sarcasm dripping from her words. "And you know what? We don't even need this; you can use the air to make fire."_

_And Bonnie tossed the lighter back in the bag._

"_Earth. Air. Water. And fire." Bonnie listed. "We've seen that you can control water. I think you use air to push back Damon; to throw him. But we can't be sure. But if you can use the air to make fire, then we'll know."_

"_What the hell. Let's give it a try." Charlotte finally agreed. "So what do I do? Call for it?"_

"_Just feel for it. Maybe that's how you do it."_

_Bonnie backed up when she saw Charlotte close her eyes and take a deep breath. The youngest Gilbert sister could feel her heart rate slowing down with each breath she took. _

_She thought about the ocean, the water, and how when a wind flew past, it carried the salted scent with it. _

_Charlotte yearned to feel that summer breeze against her face. To feel that cool air as it touched her skin, to glide airily past it; and then, she felt it as it blew her chestnut locks back from her shoulders. _

_She opened her eyes and looked at Bonnie whose own were glistening with unshed tears. The cool, light breeze never dwindled. _

"_Why are you crying?" _

"_I'm not." Bonnie laughed, and when the sound came from her mouth, a lone tear slid down her cheek, causing her to lift her hand to wipe it away. "Okay, so I guess maybe I am. I don't know. It's just…it's so beautiful. I never understood what Grams meant until now. That nature serves you."_

"_I feel at home here. I feel safe. And loved." Charlotte whispered. _

_She held out a hand palm side up like she did with the rain and she watched as it looked like the breeze all came to her hand, spinning around like a whirlwind. _

_Both of the girls watched on in fascination and now Charlotte felt as if she were going to cry. But not tears of sadness. Tears of joy. _

_She wanted to feel it envelope her. And envelope her it did. They're eyes were focused on the twister of air as it dropped to the ground, circling around Charlotte's feet and building in height. It wrapped around her, holding her in a cool embrace. _

_Charlotte could see Bonnie through the gusts of air and decided that she really believed now. As scary as this was, she felt like she had finally found her purpose; finally found her place. _

_With her arms at her side, Charlotte placed her palms forward and watched as the air flew back, the breeze causing the tree branches that were covered with autumn leaves to do a dance. _

_She wasn't going to fight it anymore. She was going to embrace it. _

"_Air has oxygen in it. That's what fire needs to grow, right?" She questioned Bonnie who nodded her head and watched on as if she were in a trance. _

_Charlotte lifted her hand again, palm side up and focused on pulling the air into it. She was relieved when another whirlwind spun in her hand. _

_She could do this. She knew she could. _

_Her eyes hardened as they focused on the air, watching as it span faster. Charlotte could feel the air heating up in her hand; growing hotter and hotter. But it wasn't uncomfortable for her. _

_The atoms seemed to be moving at a rapid rate, moving more quickly with each second that went by. And then, the air ignited. Flames began to dance in her hazel orbs. _

_Charlotte had created fire. _

Charlotte averted her eyes from Damon's and back to the ball of fire in her palm.

Her mind focused on slowing the particles down and very slowly, the heat in her hand started to cool; the fire slowly dissipating, until suddenly, the ball turned to ice.

She tossed the ice ball over to Damon who easily caught it.

"Like I said Damon, I'm not as fragile as I look." Charlotte stated before ignoring the questioning looks on the men's faces. "So what's the plan?"

Alaric pulled from his shock, clearing his throat and picked up one of his weapons from the table.

Charlotte walked over to get a closer look and when she was next to Damon, she took the ball of ice from his hand, watching as she turned it into air, effectively making it disappear.

Damon's eyes stared into the side of Charlotte's head. He didn't know who this girl was. She had completely changed since he last saw her.

"This works with compressed air." Alaric spoke, pulling Damon from his thoughts as he held up a weapon. "The trigger mechanism is up here."

He pointed to a part of the weapon.

"I have two of these in a different size. Now for you," Alaric said, speaking to Damon. "I recommend this. It fits nicely under the jacket sleeve. You use the trigger when you're ready—"

Charlotte let out a giggle when Alaric hit a button, a small stake sliding into his hand, and he pretended to stake a vampire.

Damon and Stefan looked at each other before looking at Alaric as if he were weird.

"You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire." The history teacher/vampire hunter stated when he saw the brothers' expression.

[]

"Jer," Charlotte whispered as she grabbed her little brother's arm after the group had separated. "Are you sure you want a part in this?"

"Katherine hurt Jenna, Charlie. She wanted to kill her." Jeremy started to vent. "We can't let her get away with that."

Charlotte nodded her head in understanding.

"If things start to get out of control, you get out of there!" She ordered. "Do you understand me? I don't want you to get hurt Jeremy."

He looked at Charlotte, scrutinizing, looking for something, until he finally nodded.

"I promise." He agreed. "What was that? Earlier."

"Not now. We focus on tonight. And **I** promise you that I'll explain everything when this is all over. Okay?"

"Yeah."

Charlotte took a step closer to Jeremy and pulled him into her arms, kissing his head.

"Are you guys ready?"

The siblings broke from their embrace and nodded at Alaric and walked further into the living room where everyone had reconvened.

"Are you sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" Alaric questioned.

"No, I need you to stay with Elena." Stefan told him. "I don't want her to know about this."

"Okay. Well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight."

Charlotte scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, my name's Elena. And I'm a poor, little, defenseless girl who has everyone trying to save her." She mocked.

Caroline snorted but quickly covered her mouth to try and stop the escaping giggles.

"What?" Charlotte asked when she saw everyone looking at her. "You know it's true. You guys always try to protect her. And she should be here helping tonight! It's her and Stefan's fault that Jenna got hurt anyways. It's her fault we're in this mess in the first place. So I'm going to leave now and go and get ready for tonight. You all can think about what I just said."

Stefan blocked her path and stared her down.

"It's not Elena's fault. So don't blame her."

"Do me a favor Stefan, stop defending her. Let her own up to her own mistakes instead of you just sweeping them under the carpet for her. It's getting quite pathetic."

[]

Charlotte was preparing for the masquerade ball in her bedroom when a knock resounded on her door.

"Ric," She voiced seeing the man on the other side when she opened it.

"Hi, sorry, I don't mean to bother you." Alaric apologized. "I just thought we could talk."

She opened her door wider and motioned for him to come in.

"What did you want to talk about?"

Alaric looked around her room before going to sit in the chair that was situated in the corner.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened at Stefan's." He told her. "You're not exactly human, are you?"

Charlotte felt like a knife was stabbed through her heart at that question that was more like a statement. Human. Was she?

"Would you believe me if I told you that you were my child? That I had a part in creating you, creating all of this? Everything you see?" She questioned; but she wasn't expecting an answer. "I don't know what I am Alaric. But I know my purpose, and I'm coming to terms with it. Albeit slowly, but I am."

Alaric took a few moments to take her words in.

"And what is that purpose, Charlie?"

"You'll find out, someday." She whispered. "But, hopefully not any time soon."

Alaric stood up from the chair and started to walk to the door, knowing that Charlotte wasn't going to say no more.

"Ric," Charlotte called out, stopping him just as he was about to close her door. "You're good for her; Jenna. I'm glad she's with you. She deserves someone like you."

They shared a soft smile with each other and Charlotte turned, listening as the door clicked shut. She closed her hazel eyes, squeezing them tightly to stop the tears forming, trying to calm her shaky breathes.

And when she felt like she had her emotions under control, she opened them again, and turned to look into the mirror.

Hard, emotionless eyes stared back at her.

Charlotte was ready.

* * *

**A/N:**

**(polyvore.)com/hmhylbm_aam/collection?id=1611373**

Sorry for any spelling mistakes and errors.

So as you can see from the chapter, I made Charlotte an elemental because it seems more realistic since she was originally around during the times of the gods and I think she'll be able to do a lot more stuff with those powers.

So in this chapter, I did flashbacks to how Bonnie was helping Charlotte progress with her elemental powers, I didn't want to add it all into one flashback so I did multiple ones when Charlotte controlled them in real time. And Charlotte's being kind of bitchy, but maybe it's for a reason. We'll have to wait and see.

**Review!**


	25. Chapter 24: Masquerade Pt2

**A/N:** All of those who have reviewed, followed and favorited this story are incredible. A lot of times I lose focus on writing but knowing that you all are behind this story and like it definitely make it worth writing :) Thank youuuuu!

* * *

Chapter 24: Masquerade Pt. 2

She arrived at the Lockwood mansion, her masquerade mask tied securely as though to conceal her identity.

Her black lace dress, most of her lightly sun kissed skin showing through the fabric.

It was like she had completely transformed.

Charlotte, who once was the girl next door, now could pass as the vixen down the street.

The teenage girl heard a low whistle behind her and she whipped around to see Tyler standing there.

"Trying to put all the guys here in an early grave?" He questioned jokingly with a smirk.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment? Because if it is, well then, thank you." Charlotte laughed. "And isn't the point of a masquerade to be to disguise yourself?"

Tyler stepped forward and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek.

"I think I dated you long enough to know you apart from everyone here." He informed her. "Besides once you turned around I knew it was you. Your eyes. I would know them from anywhere. They tell me everything I need to know."

Charlotte's smile fell from her face.

"What? What did you just say?"

Tyler looked confused for a moment before he repeated himself.

"I knew it was you from your eyes."

"I need to go Ty. I'll see you later, yeah? Have a good night." Charlotte walked away before Tyler could say anything else.

_**Your eyes tell me everything I need to know.**_

Charlotte walked out to the backyard and leant against the side of the house, squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath. The cool night air nipping her exposed skin.

"_And they're filled with so much love, so much emotion. And when you smile," He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "Like you're doing now, they light up, as bright as the moon…as bright as the morning sun. Your eyes tell me everything I need to know."_

Her hazel eyes snapped back open and she remembered something.

Blue eyes. The low baritone his voice held.

"I love you." She whispered just like she had in the dream, speaking as if it would flood her with remembrance.

"Well, I love you, too, pretty girl."

Charlotte let out a huff and made a move to leave but Damon reached out and gripped her arm, effectively stopping her from going any further.

"Dance with me."

"I'd rather not." She told him, tugging on her arm but his grip didn't loosen.

"I wasn't asking."

Charlotte looked around at the people under the strings of lights that were illuminating the dance floor. She couldn't do something to Damon without someone seeing so she held out her hand.

"One dance."

Damon grabbed her hand with his larger one and led her out to the dance floor, twirling her around before into his arms.

"You look beautiful." He whispered against her ear, but Charlotte changed the topic.

"Any sign of grandma yet?" She asked, speaking of Katherine but she didn't need an answer because she saw the girl that she knew wasn't her sister making her way towards where she and Damon were dancing.

"Don't you look absolutely ravishing." Katherine murmured as she looked Charlotte over. "Old drawings just don't do you enough justice."

Charlotte's brows furrowed. Old drawings?

Katherine waltzed away when she spotted Stefan off to the side, leaving the chestnut haired girl to ponder her statement.

"Don't listen to her." Damon told her. "She's just trying to rile you up."

Charlotte didn't respond. She only looked around the yard. The twinkling lights, the partygoers with their masks on; some were extravagant, others were not.

This song was never ending it seemed.

"What's going on with you? Huh?" Damon finally said breaking the silence between the two.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Damon gave a sarcastic chuckle before bringing his hands to grip Charlotte's upper arms, giving her a rough shake.

"I don't know what your problem is. I don't know what the hell happened to turn you into such a bitch these last few weeks, but I don't like it. This isn't you." He ranted. "And this feud you have with your sister, stop blaming her! It's not her fault. It's Katherine's!"

Charlotte finally ripped from his grip and glared at him.

"And there we go. It's **always** about Elena! You know something Damon. Bonnie's been helping me to control my powers; she's helping me discover the things I can do." She started to explain. "And I did some research. I can control air. You know? That stuff you breathe in? This means that I can siphon the air from your lungs."

Just as she finished her sentence, Damon started to choke.

Charlotte looked around and was thankful that people were two enthralled with their own life to notice.

"It is Elena's fault. She didn't listen to Katherine. And if she did listen to the bitch, Jenna wouldn't have gotten hurt. And it's also your fault. And Stefan's fault for even coming into this town. We were all better off without you."

She turned and went to walk away, hearing Damon finally being able to draw air into his lungs behind her. Charlotte turned around, she wasn't finished yet.

"And I became a bitch when you killed me. You remember? When you shoved a stake through my heart that was originally meant for my best friend? I'm not someone that you can push over Damon. And you know something else; you're absolutely pathetic for pining over someone who's only stringing you along. Elena's just like Katherine, Damon. She wants both of you. She just doesn't want to admit it."

[]

Charlotte was wandering around the Lockwood Mansion upstairs when she saw Katherine dragging Caroline down the hall.

"Which room is it?" Katherine demanded.

"It's that one."

Charlotte smirked and created a heavy breeze to push Katherine inside of the room.

"What the hell?" The old vampire exclaimed but her focus returned to wanting the Bennett witch. "Where is she?"

Caroline's laughter rang through the air and you could clearly see that Katherine was confused.

"I did it. I really didn't think that I'd be able to fool you but I did it!"

Katherine charged over but she couldn't escape the room. An invisible force was stopping her. She was locked inside. She was trapped.

"What the…? Stefan?"

Charlotte could hear Stefan greet her just before Caroline bid adieu.

The teenage girl stepped out from the shadows and towards the room Katherine was in, listening to the words being spoken.

"No." She heard Stefan admit. "But he can."

Walking to the door, Charlotte untied her mask and saw Katherine gasp in pain as a small stake was sticking out of the middle of her back.

And she watched as an all out battle began to unfold, only did it stop when Stefan and Damon heard Charlotte from behind them, falling to her knees and clutching her head.

"Charlotte!"

It felt like someone was trying to invade her thoughts. They were pushing their way inside of Charlotte's brain.

And then, she heard Bonnie's voice as clear as if the dark skinned girl were standing right next to her.

'_Where ever you are, you need to stop Damon and Stefan. Whatever they're doing to Katherine is hurting Elena. She's linked to Katherine.'_

"Stop!" She shouted standing up and entering the room. "Whatever you're doing to her is hurting Elena!"

Stefan released Katherine from his hold while the latter only began to chuckle.

"You think that you two are the only ones with a witch on your side? Wrong. And something tells me that my witch is better than your witch." Katherine grinned. "Which brings me to a question I have; what are you? You smell delightful."

Charlotte's eyes hardened and she went to make a snide remark but stopped.

Everyone could hear Jeremy running up the stairs to make sure that they had got the message.

"Jeremy, go check on Elena; make sure she's okay." Stefan told him before he was even close to the room. "Go!"

Even though she was concerned about her sister, Charlotte still rolled her eyes. And a smug smile formed on her lips when Katherine voiced the same thought.

"Let's all make sure poor Elena's okay." The vampire said with a roll of her eyes. "What would you guys do if something happened to Charlie? Hmm?"

"My name's not Elena." Charlotte cut in. "Besides I can take care of myself. I don't need a prince charming."

When she said this, she looked at Damon, knowing that the two of them had an ongoing Prince Charming and Snow White debacle.

"Well then," Katherine spoke, raising the stake to her hand. "Just a little bit more pressure."

She proceeded to drag the point of the stake along her palm, cutting the skin until Stefan knocked it out of her hand. But she only picked it back up and held it over her stomach.

"This is really gonna hurt."

"Wait!" Damon shouted.

Charlotte could see that the only thing Damon had going through his mind was Elena.

Katherine grinned and dropped the stake down to her side, the two male vampires staring her down with loathing looks. Charlotte's expression was bored as the female lowered herself down onto a couch, twirling the stake between her fingers.

"I'm leaving." Charlotte muttered turning to walk out of the room but Katherine's voice stopped her.

"No you're not. Or else I'll finish your sister once and for all. But maybe you'd like that."

"What is it that you want? Huh?"

Katherine stood from the couch and walked over to Charlotte, bringing a hand up to run a finger along her jaw.

"I did want the moonstone. But you'll do just fine."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stefan growled.

"You should stick to worrying about Elena, Stefan. Charlotte can't be saved. Once he, or should I say _they_, find out that she's alive…" Katherine looked at Charlotte, scrutinizing every inch of her. "Although I don't know how she is. There is nothing you or Damon could do from stopping them from taking her. You have no claim over her. She's always been _**his**_."

"Who?" Charlotte asked with furrowed brows. "Who is he? Who are they?"

Katherine ignored her question and went back over to the couch.

"You really don't remember? I never thought that someone like him could love, but when he talked about you…he just would not shut up. I used to think he'd only want one thing, but now that you're here. He'll want you more than anything." The vampire explained while the other vampires tried to decipher her cryptic message.

"Don't listen to the bitch!" Damon told the teenage girl, walking over to the door to try to find a way out but it was impossible.

"Who would want her?" Stefan asked Katherine and he winced at the way his words came out.

"Well thanks a lot Stefan. I seem to have forgotten, everyone wants Elena." She snarled walking over to the window and looking down at the party.

It was quiet for a few minutes after that until Katherine broke the silence.

"The three of us together. Just like old times." She voiced looking at her past loves before glancing at Charlotte. "Except for this one who crashed the party."

Charlotte turned form the window and saw Katherine glancing at both brothers.

"The brother who loved me too much…and the brother who didn't love me enough."

"And the evil vampire slut who only loved herself." Damon added in.

Charlotte had to snicker and scoff at this statement at the same time.

It reminded her of someone else she knew.

"What happened to you Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite?"

"That Damon died a long time ago." He said.

"Good. He was a bore."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and was about ready to snap at the duos bickering but Stefan cut to the chase before her.

"Oh, why don't you two stop antagonizing each other?"

"Where's the moonstone?" Katherine asked.

"What do you want with it?" Stefan shot back.

What came out of Katherine's mouth next caused Charlotte to let loose a big, boisterous laugh.

"Does Elena enjoy having both of you worship at her alter?"

"Believe me, Grandma. She does." Charlotte told the vampire, ignoring the hard looks shot at her from the other two in the room.

"That was really desperate, Katherine." Stefan told his maker, knowing exactly what game she was trying to play. "Don't you think we can see right through you?"

Charlotte shook her head, a ponderous look on her face.

"I thought she was actually spot on."

"You're being surprisingly nice to me, Charlotte." Katherine pointed out.

"That's only because if I hurt you, I hurt my sister. I may not like her at the moment but that doesn't mean I want her to die. But, you'll get what's coming for you. Real soon."

Katherine glared at the chestnut haired girl before putting a smirk on her face, turning back to Stefan.

"So, it doesn't bother you that Damon's in love your girlfriend?"

And she just had to bring in the whole lover's triangle into play.

"He doesn't want you Katherine." Charlotte stated in a snarky tone as she walked over to the couch and plopped herself down next to Katherine. "Neither of them does. They've moved onto the new version of you. It's history repeating itself. Elena wants both of them. Just like you did 145 years ago. Let's just hope that their love story doesn't have a similar ending."

When she said this, Charlotte's eyes flickered back and forth between the two brothers.

They knew exactly what she was implying.

And as they looked at the two girls sitting side by side on the couch, they could've passed as one in the same.

Charlotte wasn't the same girl they had met when they first arrived in Mystic Falls. She had done a complete 180.

Her hazel eyes looked more molten and golden than they ever had; only being accentuated even more with her smoky eye makeup.

"You know, this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused." Stefan spoke up looking bemused. "Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help destroy all vampires. So what's in it for you?"

Charlotte turned to look at Katherine, wanting to know her answer. But Katherine only opened and closed her mouth like a fish.

And when Charlotte didn't want to be found out about and she still didn't know how to get into someone's mind without them knowing.

"Sorry about your pet wolf, probably should have kept him on a tighter leash."

So much for Katherine not finding out about her, because as soon as those words were out of Damon's mouth, Charlotte stood from the couch, arms out and she waved them back before throwing them forward.

A huge gust of air, slammed into Damon throwing him back against the wall. Hard.

Katherine's eyes widened seeing this happen. What the hell was this girl?

"You are the most disgusting and vile thing I have ever met Damon Salvatore!" Charlotte hissed in the moment and she could see the hurt flash across Damon's face as he lifted himself from the floor.

But she didn't care.

"Mason was a person and if you didn't antagonize him like you did, he probably would have left you alone. But you just have to make a bigger problem out of everything. I hope it comes back and bites you! You can't just go around killing everything and everyone you want to!"

"You know," Katherine cut in. "Mason's not the only wolf in town."

"You go near Tyler and I **will** end you!" Charlotte growled turning to face the girl.

Katherine stared a Charlotte and her mouth fell open when she saw her hazel eyes flash a dangerous gold.

Charlotte took a deep breath and walked around Katherine back to the couch, she needed to calm down before she lost control.

"Damn it! Where is that witch?" Damon inquired a little while later.

He wanted to get out of the room, but he couldn't do so without Bonnie.

The tension in the room was thick.

Damon and Stefan wanted to kill Katherine. And Charlotte was just about to annihilate everyone.

"We could play charades." Katherine suggested.

"Or we can play kill Katherine." Charlotte reiterated. "You know, kill two birds with one stone."

"Charlotte! She's still linked to your sister!" Damon spoke up appalled, but the girl only shrugged her shoulders.

"You bargained the moon stone." Stefan got out, finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

"What are you mumbling about?" Damon asked turning away from the door and to his brother.

"When you struck a deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told me you gave George something that he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?"

"Was George cute?" Charlotte asked with a thoughtful look on her face. "All the Lockwood's seem to have some sort of attractiveness to them."

Her question was ignored however when Katherine began to congratulate Stefan.

"Good for you, Stefan. Two plus two…and it would have worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." Katherine stated before looking at Damon. "Thanks to you, by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"

"You and me both honey." Damon replied and Charlotte had to chuckle.

"Can I leave now?" She asked, rising from the couch.

"Sit down or a stake goes in my stomach." Katherine hissed.

"I really don't care anymore." Charlotte snarled right back and went to walk away but Stefan reached an arm out to stop her.

"Why do you need the moonstone back?" Stefan questioned as a sultry look overcame Katherine's features.

"I love you in a suit. So dashing."

"And you're so desperate." Charlotte mocked.

"What were you doing with it in the first place?"

Damon shook his head before telling his younger brother that he was wasting his breath.

"Unless it wasn't yours to begin with. In 1864 you faked your death. Who were you running from, Katherine?"

Charlotte's brows furrowed at this. Katherine stole the moonstone. She had to have. And now whoever she stole it from was coming for it. Right? And now she needed it back as a bargaining chip. Was that what was going on?

"In 1987 you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places, with that wench, Lexi." Katherine remembered and Stefan looked surprised while Charlotte's jaw clenched.

She had liked Lexi.

"Don't look so surprised, of course I checked up on you over the years. You were in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi and I was watching you."

Pity began to form in the pit of her stomach as she looked at Damon's face. She was pissed at him. Sure. But he didn't deserve to have that rubbed in his face. That it had always been Stefan for Katherine. That she checked up on him over the years and not Damon.

"Who were you running from?" Stefan asked again, hoping to get an answer but all he got was a mouthed 'I love you.'

[]

"You know, I actually came here for the party. Not to sit in here all night." Charlotte grumbled with crossed arms.

"I know, we're missing the party." Katherine pouted in agreement as she stared out the window and at the people below. "I'll have one of those."

Damon had just poured a glass of scotch for himself.

"Right away, Miss Katherine." He mocked.

She smirked as Damon poured another glass and handed it to her.

Thanking him, Katherine lifted the glass to her lips but before she could take a sip, Damon had her flush up against the wall, stake aimed at her chest.

"No! No, Damon, don't." Stefan pleaded as he grabbed his brother's arm.

"Yes, Damon, please." Katherine taunted.

"You guys are so fucking dramatic!" Charlotte muttered picking at her nails.

"The second this spell is lifted." Damon warned her. "I'm going to drive a stake right though your heart."

"God, you're hot." Katherine stated. "When did you get so hot?"

"Killing you would be far too kind." Charlotte muttered with a shake of her head.

"I'm here because I want the moonstone. And now, I want Charlotte." Katherine told the brothers.

"Why do you want her?" Damon hissed. "What could you possibly want her for?"

"Well, for one, it's obvious that she's not human and she has a few tricks up her sleeve. And I know someone who would just die to have you back in his arms. He's quite miserable without you." She informed Charlotte. "Maybe you can make him less of a murderous dick."

"Besides, why would you want to stay here with people who could care less about you and only care about your sister when there's someone out there who loves you more than life itself? They don't care about you Charlotte, to them, it's always going to be Elena."

Charlotte could feel the wall around her heart beginning to crumble at Katherine's words and she pushed the tears back, not wanting to show her weakness.

She was right. Katherine was right. And it disgusted Charlotte.

"That's not true Charlotte, and you know it. Don't listen to her!" Damon murmured, but it didn't pull Charlotte from her doubts.

"I don't care about that Katherine. I'm happy being alone and by myself." Charlotte lied. "I'm fine on my own. I don't need anyone else."

"Katherine." The attention turned to the doorway where a dark skinned woman stood, the moonstone in hand. "The spell on this room has been broken, you're free to leave."

"Thank God." Katherine sighed with relief.

The witch held the moonstone in her hand and when Katherine went to reach for it, she pulled it back.

"When I hand this over my debt to you is over."

"Done."

"I owe you nothing." The woman elaborated.

"I said done. Give it."

Damon shook his head.

"I wouldn't do that." He admonished.

She handed the moonstone over to Katherine and after the stone rested in the vampire's hand for a moment, she began to gasp for air.

The source of her pain was the moonstone. It was suffocating her.

"You should have told me there was another witch involved." The witch told Katherine. "She's a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that."

Katherine fell to her knees in pain.

"Wait, Elena!" Stefan protested, stopping the witch as she went to walk away.

"Elena's fine." The woman told him just as Katherine was sprawled out completely. "The spell is broken. She'll heal quickly, Bonnie's with her. I apologize for my involvement."

Just as she left, Katherine fell unconscious.

"Put her in the tomb." Charlotte ordered, stepping over the vampire. "That's where she should have been all along anyways."

"Charlotte!" Stefan called out. "You know that what she said wasn't true."

Charlotte turned to face the two brothers and gave them a look of disbelief.

"Go check on Elena, Stefan. We all know that's what the both of you want to do right now. So stop pretending."

[]

Charlotte was dressed and ready for bed.

She was tired after the night she had. She didn't even stick around to check on her sister; Elena had enough people to fawn over her. And she was probably still with Stefan seeing as she wasn't home yet.

Her hazel eyes stared up at the ceiling, wondering if Katherine was right.

Was there really someone out there that wanted her more than anything?

That was something that Charlotte could only hope for as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**(polyvore.)com/hmhylbm_aam/collection?id=1611373**

Sorry for any errors!

So the second half is here! Katherine gives little cryptic messages of what's to come for Charlotte. And the latter is still on the outs with the Salvatore brother's and her sister.

I'm not sure when I want to try and have them put the pieces of their relationships back together or even if I want them to. I think they'll always have those underlying issues.

What's your opinion?

**Review :)**


	26. Chapter 25: By the Light of the Moon

**A/N:** Thanks to my reviewers and all my readers. And I skipped some episodes and I hope you won't/don't mind because Elijah is finally gonna see Charlotte for the first time after one thousand years in the chapter :)

* * *

Chapter 25: By the Light of the Moon

Charlotte's feet hit the pavement, music blaring in her ears as she was almost twenty minutes into her run. Her mind kept wandering back to what had been going on in the past few days.

With vampires in her life, it was definitely never quiet.

_The morning after the masquerade party at the Lockwood's, Charlotte woke up to find that Elena had been abducted and while Bonnie did a location spell to track her down, the youngest Gilbert sister grabbed a duffle bag and packed it full of any necessities she could think of, and then, she snuck away to the tomb under Old Fell's church._

_Charlotte moved the stone door aside, and stepped into the tomb, turning on a flashlight and shining it around, calling out for Katherine._

"_Grandma? C'mon, I brought you some food."_

_She walked deeper into the tomb, calling out for Katherine until she saw her hunched over against a wall._

"_You're really stupid." Katherine muttered. "I can drain you dry in a second."_

"_But you won't; because if you so much as touch me, I'll kill you." Charlotte made clear._

_Charlotte tossed the duffle bag down beside Katherine who quirked a brow at her in question._

"_There's some food in there. I robbed Damon and Stefan. And there's a light, it's this really cool flashlight thing that you can turn into a lantern and some batteries to go with it. Ummm, what else? I put some changes of clothes and there are some undies in there and some magazines, pens, puzzle books. You know, in case you get bored. There's wet wipes to clean yourself with, some more hygiene stuff. Water. Everything you could need, for being locked in a dirty hole in the ground. And there's a small pillow and a throw in the bottom." The teenage girl listed off. "You can thank me now."_

_Katherine unzipped the bag and rifled through it, looking for the blood._

"_Ah ah ah, that's in this bag." Charlotte informed her, patting the bag she was holding in her hand. "You tell me the truth and you get fed. Do we have a deal?"_

"_You know, what would Damon and Stefan think if they knew you were here?" Katherine asked._

"_It doesn't matter what they think, because, one: they don't own me. Two: They only care about Elena. And three: they're on a 'Rescue Elena' mission as we speak." _

_Katherine smirked at Charlotte before motioning to the space beside her. _

"_What do you want to know?"_

_Charlotte had so many questions running through her mind._

_While she was thinking of what to ask, Katherine pulled some of the clothes Charlotte had brought her and changed into them. _

"_Are you ever gonna start talking?" Katherine asked exasperated. _

"_When you first got here, you recognized me. And then the last night, you said something about old drawings and how someone is coming and that I was your key to survival. That Damon and Stefan shouldn't waste their time with me. That I was his. Whose am I, Katherine? Who wants me?! Who's coming to Mystic Falls?"_

_Katherine looked at Charlotte, her mind trying to pull apart each question so that she could answer them one by one, even though they all had the same answer._

"_Klaus."_

As soon as the name came to her mind, Charlotte tripped over her feet, and her hands came out to break her fall. But the small debris on the sidewalk still dug into her flesh, scraping the palms of her hands and her exposed knees.

He couldn't be the one she was dreaming about. The man she dreamt about was gentle and kind. Not a monster.

"_I had a baby, a girl, out of wedlock. In 1490." Katherine began to explain once she was dressed._

_Charlotte pulled a blood bag from the smaller second duffle bag she had brought with her and handed it over to Katherine just as the vampire sat down next to her. _

"_I was banished from Bulgaria; I had brought shame on my family. So, I went to England. It was there, in 1492, that I met a nobleman by the name of Klaus."_

"_He's the one who you stole the moonstone from, isn't it?"_

"_Yes. He wanted to use me to break a curse; he wanted to use me for a sacrifice."_

_Katherine tossed the empty blood bag to the ground and turned to see the confusion on Charlotte's face._

"_But you're wondering what this has to do with you. Aren't you?"_

_Charlotte nodded her head and turned to look at Katherine._

"_Where do I fit in?"_

"_I was completely enamored with him, but he didn't seem to share the same feelings that I did. I could never understand why he courted me. Now, this was before I knew about the sacrifice, so I decided to snoop. I snuck into this room he always went into. And in there, I found you."_

_Katherine could remember walking into that room, lit by candle light, to see Charlotte's face everywhere._

"_There were drawings and paintings. **Everywhere**; not a space in that room wasn't filled with you. It was a shrine to you. And then he caught be, and he was absolutely furious. And then I found out why he didn't share the same feelings that I did for him, because it was only you. It was always you, Charlotte. He talked about your life together and then the day he found you in that clearing you always went to, and how he found you dead. And he talked and he talked. And he even cried. And when he was finished getting it all off of his chest, he compelled me to forget."_

"_Then how do you remember all of this?"_

_Katherine pulled the blanket from the bag and thumbed the soft fabric._

"_When you turn into a vampire, all the compulsion wears off. I bet he realized that as soon as I ran. But when all of this, comes to a head, and he comes here, just know, that…that he loves you." Katherine placed her hand on Charlotte's and gave it a soft squeeze. "And that should mean more than anything to you; to know that you were really loved. You're not happy here, Charlotte. These people don't care about you, not like he does."_

_That was the most honest that Charlotte had heard Katherine sound. But it was something that the teenage girl didn't want to believe. _

"_How did you become a vampire?" Charlotte asked changing the subject._

_Katherine remembered running like hell through the forest, trying to escape her fate. She could remember tripping over the branches that were strewn across the forest floor._

"_When I found out about the sacrifice, I ran. I ran like hell. And then when it came down to it, I made the choice. Klaus couldn't sacrifice me if I wasn't human anymore. And I wasn't ready to die."_

Charlotte picked herself up from the ground, dusting off her knees with her fingers and then wiping off the dirt and blood from her hands on her tank top.

How could someone _ever_ be ready to die? She would never be able to, she would never be able to make that choice to just jump over the edge and end her life.

Charlotte didn't know how the past versions of her could do that.

But she couldn't.

She wasn't them.

In some parts, she couldn't understand why Katherine made the choice to become a vampire, but she couldn't understand how she could condemn anyone else's death warrant without a second thought.

She wasn't ready to die. She was only 17. She wanted to **live**.

And then she began to run again. Until her lungs began to burn and her legs began to ache.

As she turned around a corner, she remembered when she was going to visit with Katherine, and she overheard the vampire speaking with her sister. It seemed to be the end of their conversation.

How Katherine came to Mystic Falls to offer Klaus what he needed in order for him to lift the curse: the current doppelgänger, which was her sister, a witch, Bonnie, a werewolf, Tyler, a vampire, Caroline, and the moonstone.

Katherine hoped that in exchange, Klaus would spare her life.

And it was then that Charlotte made her presence known.

"_You seemed to have left that little part out __of our conversation_." Charlotte hissed, entering the tomb. "You know, the part where you ruined my best friends' lives to save your own ass. I thought that I could understand why you became a vampire, and why you made the decisions you did. But when it comes to the people that I love, that, I won't ever even try to comprehend."

_Turning back to Elena, Charlotte told her sister to leave. _

_And then she threw Katherine back. _

_The vampire hit the stone wall with a groan._

"_You asked what I am. Didn't you?" Charlotte smirked. "Well, how about I just show you."_

_She picked Katherine up off of the ground, levitating her in the air. And then, she began siphon the air from her lungs._

"_That's how I control air. Can't breath, can you?" She taunted as Katherine brought her hands up to scratch at her throat. "Wanna see water?"_

_Not even a second later, Katherine could breathe again, but she soon began to choke._

"_Now you can feel your lungs filling with water. You may be a vampire, Kat. But that doesn't make you invincible to me." Charlotte chastised. "How about I show you fire now? Or maybe Earth? I can bring these walls down on you before you can even blink."_

_Katherine's eyes were glossy and she shook her head furiously._

_When Charlotte heard Stefan calling Elena's name, she dropped Katherine back to the ground. _

"_That pain you just felt, that's for my aunt and for my friends. You've ruined Caroline's and Tyler's lives. And mark my words Katherine. I'm gonna ruin yours."_

_Charlotte turned on her heels and left the tomb, walking out to see Stefan hovering over Elena, but she ignored them and walked right past the duo. _

_She had had enough._

[]

Elijah followed Jenna into the Gilbert house after she had invited him in. He looked around the entrance way and along the walls in the hall, his eyes stopping on one portrait.

Jenna turned around and realized that Elijah wasn't following her anymore, and following his gaze, she saw the picture that his eyes were fixated on.

"That's my niece, Charlie. That was when she was a cheerleader." She told him.

"Charlie?"

Jenna nodded her head with a soft mhmm.

"Yeah, short for Charlotte. She went for a run, she should be home soon and you can meet her."

Elijah looked at the rest of the pictures on the wall. A picture of her and Elena in their cheer uniforms. Pictures of them together and with their parents. With Jeremy.

The Original could only stare. Was it really her?

Elijah could feel the anticipation building in him as he pulled his eyes away from the picture and followed Jenna into the kitchen.

He needed to see her in person.

[]

Charlotte stomped her way up the steps to her house and flung open the door, ripping the ear buds out of her ears and tearing the sweaty tank top she was wearing over her head and tossing it over her shoulder, the words from the song she was just listening to still flying out of her mouth.

"Charlie?" Jenna called from the kitchen. "Is that you?"

"No, it's Satan." The teenage girl called back, walking into the kitchen. "Who else would it be?"

Elijah had smelled the tantalizingly sweet scent before she had even walked up the steps.

Charlotte stopped in her tracks when she saw an attractive man standing across from her aunt, and she tilted her head in Jenna's direction, wiggling her brows in a suggestive manner.

"Charlotte," Jenna said coming towards her and spanking her butt to get her to stop. "This is Elijah, Elijah, this is my niece, Charlotte."

Elijah stared at the teenage girl before him. Her eyes bright and hazel. His eyes scanned over her form, everything was the same. And then his orbs honed in on a scar that was located just on her abdomen, under her left breast.

It _was_ her.

There was no way that it wasn't. His Charlotte and this Charlotte shared the same scar.

The only difference between them was that this Charlotte didn't have the accent she carried one thousand years ago.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He voiced with a soft smile.

"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine." Charlotte replied flirtatiously but her eyes narrowed in thought; she could swear she knew him from somewhere.

"Charlie!" Jenna hissed under her breath and pinched the girl's arm.

"Oww! Don't do that!" She whined giving Jenna a scornful look and going towards the fridge where she pulled out a bottle of water.

"I would shake your hand, but, I'm kind of dirty and bloody at the moment." Charlotte voiced over her shoulder.

Elijah just continued to watch her every move. He didn't want to take his eyes off of her for the fear that this was all just an illusion and that Charlotte would disappear.

Jenna finally noticing that Charlotte was scuffed up, was suddenly concerned.

"Charlotte, what happened?" She exclaimed, pulling the water from her hand and looking at her scraped palms and bloody knees.

"I tripped on my run. I'm fine, it's just some scrapes."

Jenna shook her head, telling her niece to hop up onto the counter while she got the first aid kit.

While Jenna was searching for the box in the bathrooms, Charlotte's gaze raked over Elijah.

"You look really familiar. But never mind that, what brings you to Mystic Falls?"

"Research. I'm writing a book." Elijah told her.

"Got it!" Jenna yelled coming down the stairs.

Jenna came down the hall and set the first aid kit on the counter, opening it and pulling out antiseptic wipes.

"No, nope, nah. I'm fine." Charlotte protested, pulling away from Jenna when she went to wipe her marred skin.

"Stop being a baby." Jenna admonished.

Charlotte winced at the stinging she felt as Jenna finally was able to hold her still and wiped her scraped knee.

"So you're helping Elijah with research?" Charlotte asked her aunt.

"Yeah, your former future mother in law roped me in."

Laughter rang through the air at Jenna's statement.

"Yeah, she's kind of extreme." The teenage girl muttered once she had calmed down.

"Mother in law?" Elijah asked in confusion.

"My ex-boyfriend's mother. Carol Lockwood. I'm sure you've already met her. She's the mayor." Charlotte explained. "So why Mystic Falls?"

"I heard it's an interesting town." Elijah replied.

"You have no idea. Believe me when I tell you this, you're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy." Charlotte informed him. "Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!"

"Are you sure you didn't hit that head of yours when you tripped?" Jenna asked with a laugh.

Jenna finally finished cleaning her open wounds and cleaned up the mess she created.

Charlotte hopped from the counter thanking her aunt.

"Well, I'm gonna go shower. It was nice to meet you Elijah."

Elijah watched Charlotte as she left the kitchen.

He needed answers.

[]

Elena could hear Charlotte as she walked to the stairs and went down them, shouting to Jenna that she was leaving before the front door slammed shut and she was gone.

She had just asked Elijah if he could get Stefan out of the tomb, and Charlotte clouded her mind.

"My sister." She whispered, and Elijah's eyes hardened at the tone of Elena's voice.

"What about Charlotte?"

Elena's brows furrowed at the urgency behind his words.

"Is she safe from Klaus?"

"I already told you that your family and friends would be kept safe. Charlotte is part of your family. She will _always_ have my protection."

'_And besides, no matter how far gone Klaus was, he would never hurt Charlotte._' He voiced inside his head.

"Other supernatural, besides werewolves and vampires, do you know anything about one woman born to save mankind, or something like that?" Elena inquired.

He didn't understand what Elena was talking about.

"Never mind, I can figure out something else. So we have a deal?" Elena asked him, even though her and Charlotte weren't on the best of terms, she would find a way to save her.

"Are we still on the topic of your sister?"

"No." Elena answered with a shaky voice and that gave it away to Elijah that she was lying, and the Original wasn't going to leave without making something very clear first.

"If there is something going on with your sister, Elena, I would very much like it if you would tell me. Is she in danger? Is someone trying to hurt her?"

Elena shook her head.

"I don't even understand it myself. Bonnie and her know everything about it."

'_The witch_.' He thought.

"Let me make myself very clear. If anyone even thinks to harm Charlotte, I _will_ kill them. You have no idea just how important your sister is to me. What she means to me. So if there is anything you know, then you tell me now. Or our deal is off." Elijah's tone was even and final.

"I don't know anything. She won't talk about it."

And before Elena could even blink, Elijah was gone.

[]

Jonas opened the door to his home to see Elijah standing across the threshold.

"Elijah, come in." He invited, moving to the side to allow the Original to enter. "I wasn't expecting you."

Elijah's lips formed a straight line before he began to speak.

"What do you know of a woman born to protect or to save mankind?"

Jonas looked at Elijah as if wonderstruck.

"She's been reborn? Charlotte's been reborn?"

"Reborn?"

"For over thousands of centuries, she's been reborn to defeat the darkness. To save mankind, to save her children, she sacrifices herself. She gives her _light_." Jonas explained.

"Her children?" Elijah asked in confusion.

"She created life, she created mankind. I, you, we, us, we're her children. We're part of her creation. Charlotte is literally life. She's an immortal being, she has so much life in her, that when she sacrifices her immortality, it's enough to save the world she created. It's quite beautiful what she'd do; what she does. A mother, who would stop at nothing to make sure her children are always safe. And you can only imagine what it would be like to see nature answer to her, to see her control it."

Elijah didn't think it was so beautiful. And then he thought about one thousand years ago, Charlotte didn't have any powers. He never saw anything suspicious.

"When was the last time she was reborn?" He asked, hoping that Jonas would have the answer he was searching for.

"That's the thing. She was born during the 10th century. But she wasn't meant to be born. Fate rebirthed her. Charlotte was reborn as a human. No powers what so ever. Story goes that, she fell in love. And he loved her back just as much, if not more than she loved him. Maybe that's why she was reborn, to finally know what it felt like to be loved in return; to finally have a family and to not be alone."

"Is there any way to stop it?" Elijah questioned. "Is there any way to stop her from making that sacrifice?"

"I've never heard of it." Jonas informed him. "Why are you so interested in this anyway?"

"I need you to lift the seal on the tomb under the church."

Jonas nodded his head in understanding just as Elijah rose from his seat.

"I'll make sure to get that done."

[]

The streets were emptying out, only a few people here and there as Charlotte lay in the center of the town's square, staring up at the full moon.

She had her cell phone's ringer on high and it was on vibrate too, just in case Caroline needed her or if something went wrong with Tyler's transformation.

"Is this something you've always done?"

Charlotte jumped in fright before looking to the side to see Elijah standing there.

Her skin was glowing in the moonlight, her hazel eyes sparkling.

"I apologize; I didn't mean to scare you."

"Well, that's normally what happens when you sneak up on people." She explained, lying back down and returning her focus to the night sky. "And I like looking at the sky. It makes me wonder what else is out there."

She patted the space beside her.

"You should try relaxing, you look kind of stiff. Come lay back and star gaze with me. Loosen up a bit."

Elijah chuckled. Charlotte was still the same girl she was one thousand years ago.

"Do you normally invite strangers to lay with you?" He questioned with his hands in his pockets and one of his brows quirked.

"You can either stop asking questions and lay down," Charlotte started. "Or, you can leave."

Elijah chose the first option; he wanted to spend more time with her. It had been centuries since he had been in her company, and he didn't want to lose it any time soon.

Charlotte's eyes kept peeking at him as he lowered himself onto the grass until he was laying back. And she couldn't contain herself anymore as she burst into giggles.

"What's so funny?" Elijah asked in confusion, moving his head to the side to look at her.

"Nothing." She laughed out. "You just look…_this _doesn't look like something you'd normally do."

Once she calmed down, her gaze returned to the night sky, while Elijah's eyes remained fixated on her face.

"You know, when I think about how big the universe is, it makes me wonder what else is out there. Like, maybe there's girl out there on another planet, lying in the grass and thinking the same things that I am. Maybe there's something bigger than us out there."

Elijah's mind thought back to a night some centuries ago.

"You've always been a dreamer." Elijah mumbled with a small smile on his face.

Charlotte sat up and looked down at Elijah, a perplexed look on her face.

"What did you just say?"

Elijah rose from the ground, dusting of his suit and realizing his mistake.

"I should be going now." He told her and he turned to take his leave, but Charlotte reached out, grabbing his hand to stop him.

And she was taken to the past.

* * *

**A/N:**

**(polyvore.)com/hmhylbm_aam/collection?id=1611373**

Sorry this chapter is kind of crappy I kinda wanted it to be better but I got kind of lost :/ I hope you still enjoyed it. And apologies for any errors throughout!

Cliffhangerrrrr :) What do you think happens?

Okay, so how do you guys feel if I change things up a bit when Klaus gets here? Because I feel as if Klaus killed Jenna, that would be something that Charlotte wouldn't be able to forgive him for and I love Jenna too much to kill her off like they originally do and I think that Klaus wouldn't go that far to hurt her. But if you guys don't like that I'll keep it how it is originally.

I just think that to keep a Klaus/Charlotte relationship that some things need to be changed. What do you guys think?

So here is the chapter, flashbacks/back story to the episodes I skipped, some Katherine/Charlotte bonding, and Elijah is finally here!

And yes I know Katherine was OOC in the flashbacks with Charlotte but I hope you guys don't mind and like to see this softer side to her.

And another thing, when Klaus gets here, he's in Alaric's body first. So what do I call him, when he's in Alaric's body? Do I call him Klaus? Or do I still refer to him as Alaric? Or do I call him Klaus/Alaric since it's essentially two people at once? I wouldn't want there to be any confusion.

So after a long author's note of my rambles…**REVIEW!**


	27. Chapter 26: The Dinner Party

**A/N**: Sorry this is _**extremely**_ late; 'extremely late' doesn't even describe how long it's been since I've updated! My stupid AC Adapter to charge my laptop broke! The wire was all mangled and the connecter thing (you know, the thing that plugs into the laptop) was about to fall off and was literally handing on by a thread and wouldn't charge my laptop anymore. And I had to wait forever to get a new charger. And by the time I did get it, school started back up, and whoever said that home schooling is fast and easy, its not. I've been trying to find time to write but school work takes up soooo much of my time.

I'm not trying to make up excuses for my absence but you guys deserve an explanation for making you wait months for an update. I didn't even realize I'd been gone that long!

And rest assured, I would never leave you guys hanging, if I wasn't going to continue with this story I would make sure you guys knew, so if I don't update for a while again and there is no author's note saying that I won't be updating anymore, there will be an update sooner or later (did that make any sense?).

Updates should start being regular at the end of February/ early March because I should be completely done or close to done with school by then.

So thank you to everyone who has reviewed and stood by this story!

Now on to the chapter, I skipped some episodes but hopefully it all blends well and you enjoy :)

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Chapter 26: The Dinner Party

"You've always been a dreamer." Elijah mumbled with a small smile on his face.

Charlotte sat up and looked down at Elijah, a perplexed look on her face.

"What did you just say?"

Elijah rose from the ground, dusting of his suit and realizing his mistake.

"I should be going now." He told her and he turned to take his leave, but Charlotte reached out, grabbing his hand to stop him.

And she was taken to the past.

"_Elijah! Elijah!" _

_Elijah turned his head when he heard his name being called from his youngest sister's lips._

_Charlotte was scurrying along as quickly as her short legs could carry her, a thick book in her hand. _

"_What is it Charlotte?" Elijah asked once she reached him. _

_Thrusting the book in his face, the little girl looked up at him with pleading hazel eyes._

"_I want you to teach me how to read." She stated. _

_Elijah chuckled as he stared down at his seven year old sister. _

_It had been a little over four years since she had joined the family and he had learned from day one that she wanted to know everything. _

_She was a very nosy girl._

_Why would her wanting to learn how to read be any different?_

"_Run along home now, sister." Elijah told her, while kneeling down in front of her and brushing a curl back from her face. "After dinner, I will begin to teach you to read." _

_His lips began to part into a smile at the look that overcame Charlotte's face._

_The young girl nodded her head leaving Elijah to chuckle and grasp her chin to get her to stop. _

"_You're going to hurt yourself if you nod that hard." He leant forward and brushed his lips against her forehead. "I will meet you in the library after dinner." _

_With those final words, Charlotte tucked the book under her arm and hurried back to the house to help her mother with dinner, excitement radiating from her form._

Charlotte moaned in unease and gripped her head as scenes kept playing out in her head like a movie.

_Her hazel eyes were locked on the starry sky above as she lay in the bed of flowers._

_She could hear her older brother softly calling her name from afar but she didn't respond._

_Charlotte just wanted to be left to her thoughts in peace._

"_Charlotte!" Elijah yelled in a hushed whisper, finally finding his sister where he knew she would most likely be. "What are you doing out here? If father finds out that you are not in bed, he will be furious!" _

_The teenage girl only ignored him and continued on with her star gazing. _

"_Charlotte! I am talking to you!"_

"_What else do you think is out there?" Her soft voice whispered, finally piercing the night air. _

_Elijah sighed and rubbed a hand over his face before he sat down next to his Charlotte who was still sprawled out on the ground. _

"_I want an adventure, but I'm a woman, and I'll be stuck here until the day that I die; while there is a whole other world out there that I will never be able to explore."_

"_Says who?" Elijah asked softly._

_Charlotte turned her head to give him an incredulous look._

"_Who do you think?"_

_Elijah nodded his head in understanding._

"_Father. But you used to dream of the day you would marry; the day you would become someone's wife and the day you would have children."_

"_That was then. Father would never allow me to marry the man that I wish." Charlotte murmured. _

_Elijah laid back into the flowers next to her and focused his eyes on the sky above._

"_You're a dreamer Charlotte, and that's something that you need to hold onto. Being a dreamer, it means that you get to picture the world the way that you want to imagine it." He told her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently. _

"_It's not the same." She grumbled with a pout._

"_I know it's not." Elijah agreed. "But for now, it's all that you have got. But someday, you'll see the world. You'll see all that it has to offer. And it will be more than you could ever have expected. More than you could have __**ever**__ wanted." _

_Elijah twisted his head to look at her, and although he could only see the left side of her face, it didn't stop him from noticing the way her lips split into a wide grin._

Tears formed in Charlotte's eyes as she was pulled back to the present.

She took a shaky breath before looking at the man before her.

"Elijah?"

A cry tore from the teenage girl's throat as she launched herself into the Original's arms, gripping onto him tightly while she sobbed into his chest.

And the vampire closed his eyes in relief, one lone tear sliding down his cheek that the moonlight bounced off of and his arms wound their way around her waist and he buried his nose into her chestnut hair.

His sister remembered him.

[]

Charlotte had been spending as much time as she could with Elijah after that night, asking question after question, as well as answering the questions that he had the best that she could.

"_Everything around you…around us…it's all blurry." Charlotte murmured as they walked along the dirt path, the teenage girl leading Elijah through the trees. "I can't remember anything else but you."_

_Elijah shook his head, knowing where the girl's mind was heading._

"_I won't tell you anything else. If you can't remember yet, then there is a reason for it. It will come to you in time; all you can do now is have patience."_

_Charlotte tossed the Original a look over her shoulder, her hazel eyes rolling. _

"_I just don't understand why you won't tell me. You sound like Katherine." She growled out, her foot catching on a branch._

_Before she could hit the ground, Elijah swiftly grabbed her elbow to keep her upright._

_The Original kept his hand on her arm but still allowed his sister to guide him._

"_When exactly have you been speaking to Katerina?" He asked with narrowed eyes._

_Charlotte shrugged her shoulders thinking of her answer._

"_I used to go to see her sometimes. Bring her food, stuff to keep her occupied." She told him. "But that was before I found out that she ruined by best friends' lives on purpose. Always save yourself first is kinda of Katherine's motto."_

_Charlotte walked into the small clearing and decided to change the subject._

"_We're here."_

_Elijah looked away from Charlotte and out into the opening; his body tensing and blood running cold. _

_The chestnut haired girl went to pull him along but his feet were rooted to the ground._

"_What are we doing here?" He asked, his voice uneven and shaky._

_A cool breeze blew past, moving the fall leaves across the forest floor and a lazy smile formed on Charlotte's plump lips. _

"_When we had an idea of what I could do, Bonnie brought me out here, thought that channeling nature would help me practice." She informed Elijah looking up to see the moon peaking through what leaves were left on the branches above. "I just keep coming back…I don't really know why. It feels familiar."_

_She turned to him and watched as he had his eyes clenched shut, his breathing ragged before they snapped open, focusing to one area in the distance near a large oak tree. It wasn't until he felt Charlotte's hand on his arm that he snapped from his thoughts. _

_He cleared his throat and shook away his thoughts before speaking._

"_Let's continue walking, you can tell me all about Katerina and what I've missed." Grabbing her hand gently, Elijah began to guide her back the way they came, Charlotte's brows furrowing in confusion before she decided to question him later on his behavior._

"_Can I ask you something?" She murmured._

_Elijah sent her a crooked smile, shaking his head, knowing where she was going._

"_You can ask me anything you want." He told her. "After you tell me what I've been inquiring about."_

_Charlotte huffed but started to speak anyways, knowing that she was not going to receive answers until she gave some of her own. _

"_So Damon staked me, it was when Caroline was turned and he went to stake her but I stepped in front of her and I died. Or something like it and when I woke up…well, I didn't exactly wake up…I don't know what you would call it…but anyways…" Charlotte began to rant. "I met her…or myself for that matter. And she was…"_

_It took the hazel eyed girl a few moments to come up with a word to describe her past self._

"_Intense. That's a good word to describe her. She yelled at me and told me how darkness was coming and how I couldn't be selfish and proceeded to tell me how I was going to die. That I had to sacrifice myself for the good of mankind."_

_A lone tear slid down her rosy cheek. _

_She was okay with this. She had come to terms with this._

_But thinking more about it, Charlotte realized that she hadn't. She was just pretending to be okay. She would never be okay with it. _

_Elijah stopped walking and reached out to grab his sister's hand to stop her from moving any further, reaching up to wipe the wetness away from her face. _

"_Don't pity me." She murmured. "I've already ruined practically every relationship with every important person in my life. There's nothing left. I've turned bipolar. Screaming and being a who-ha to everyone."_

"_Have you ever thought that you've become this who-ha you talk about because you don't want to feel anymore?" Elijah questioned. "You're pushing everyone you love away because you don't want to feel anymore but do you ever think that it's only making you hurt more?"_

"_Why create more memories with them when I'm going to leave them eventually? It's going to hurt more knowing that I'm going to lose them. Why not lose them now instead of waiting for that moment?"_

_Charlotte lowered her eyes to gaze at their feet._

"_Me and Elena, we're fine one minute and then the next we're broken beyond repair. And don't even get me started on Damon." She muttered. _

"_And what have you and Katerina been speaking about?" Elijah asked._

_Charlotte grabbed his hand and pulled him along so that they could continue back to the town. _

"_She knew who I was when she got here." The girl informed him. "After the masquerade…what a great night that was by the way…that's why I went to visit her, to get answers."_

"_Answers about what?" Elijah pressed further._

_Charlotte glanced over at her brother._

"_What do you know about Klaus? I know that you're here to protect Elena from him, but…Katherine said that he…that me and him…I don't know…I don't even know how to ask this or word it."_

"_What did Katerina say to you sister?" Elijah inquired, hoping it would help her find her voice._

"_She said that he had a shrine of me. That we had a past together and he loved me. Like really loved me. She said that when he finally arrived in Mystic Falls to remember that, and to not let anyone sway my heart. It's the complete opposite of what Grecian Charlotte told me." _

_She was confused, that much Elijah could see, but before he could speak, Charlotte began to talk again._

"_She told me to not let my heart get in the way of my duty. Katherine said that she could see that I wasn't happy here, that I wasn't loved and that Klaus loved me, more than anyone here ever could. What if he's like a weird Heathcliff, Elijah? Like what if he digs me up every year just to lay with my corpse?"_

_Charlotte's eyes widened at her last statement, causing a chuckle to arise from Elijah's throat. _

"_What do you know about him?" She finally asked him after a few moments. "If he is the man I've been dreaming about…because Bonnie said that's what my dreams have been…memories…but they can't be, because the man in my dreams…he is gentle, and caring, loving, and honorable. This…this Klaus just sounds like a monster. And at the masquerade, Tyler…he made a comment about my eyes and it set something off and I remembered a man, his eyes…and the sound of his voice…he told me that my eyes tell me everything he needs to know…and…"_

_Before she could finish, Elijah cut her off, cupping her flushed cheeks in his hands._

"_Shh…take a deep breath," He murmured soothingly._

_The Original could hear Charlotte's heart beating fiercely inside of her chest. _

"_All you need to know, is that no matter how far gone he is," he spoke, hoping that his words could still be true. "Klaus will never hurt you."_

[]

Now Charlotte was sitting on the counter in her bathroom, her face practically pressed against the mirror as she did her makeup.

She was getting ready to go with Aunt Jenna to show Elijah the property lines around Mystic Falls, although she was sure that Elijah had an ulterior motive to wanting to know where they lie.

A smile came to her face as she heard her phone vibrate and ring the special tune she had selected to alert her when Tyler would call or text and she picked up the phone, opening the text and a fit of giggles escaped her when she saw a picture of Tyler with a goofy smile on his face and giving a thumbs up.

It wasn't a call, but at least she knew that he was okay and that he was upholding his promise.

It was only a day since he had left, not even a full day…and she missed him like crazy.

_Charlotte was laying on the couch, her feet propped up on some pillows when her cell phone began to beep. Picking it up, she saw that she had a new text._

_**Come outside.**_

_Her brows furrowed as she tossed the bag of chips onto the coffee table and walked to the front door, wrapping her cream colored cardigan tighter around her as she stepped over the threshold and out onto the porch._

_Tyler was standing on the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets and he looked up at her as soon as he heard the door close shut._

"_Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked with a soft smile as she walked down the steps, the teenage boy meeting her halfway._

_Tyler grabbed her hands and held them in his own, trying to find the courage to answer her._

"_I'm leaving." He whispered with his head hung._

_Charlotte's face immediately fell._

"_What do you mean you're leaving, Ty?" She questioned with urgency. "You're coming back right?"_

_When Tyler didn't answer, the chestnut haired girl pulled one of her hands from his and lifted his chin so that he would look at her._

"_Of course I'm coming back, Charlie." Tyler told her. "I just need to get away for a while, figure some things out."_

_Nodding her head in understanding, Charlotte's familiar smile returned to her lips._

"_Did you tell Care?"_

_Tyler's eyes widened as his ex girlfriend looked at him knowingly._

"_Charlotte, I...I know…I know she's your best frien—"_

_Charlotte let out a laugh, cutting him off._

"_It's okay. You don't have to explain it to me. To Matt, yeah, maybe to him." She told Tyler._

"_I went to see him before I came here. You're my last stop. I just couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you."_

_Her hazel orbs began to get glassy and Tyler pulled her into a tight hug, both of the teenagers remembering the time they shared together. Tyler pulled away so that he could look down at her and he pressed one last chaste kiss to Charlotte's pink lips._

_Charlotte pulled Tyler into another hug and finally__ pulled away, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as if it would stop the tears from pouring._

"_Call me, everyday." Charlotte ordered causing Tyler to laugh. "I'm serious!"_

"_I know you are." Tyler replied through his snicker. "And I promise, everyday that you're phone will ring and it will be me."_

_Tyler turned and walked over to the car, opening the door._

_Before he got in however, he turned back to his first love. _

"_Hey Charlie," He called out. _

_Charlotte lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at the boy who was turning more and more into a man everyday._

"_I'm sorry, I was a dick after you broke up with me, but I need you to know that I'll always love you, you're kinda the best first girlfriend a guy could ever have asked for."_

_Now it was her turn to laugh at Tyler's words and the two shared one last look as Charlotte brought her hand to her mouth, pressing a kiss to her fingers and waving a Tyler, it was her way of blowing him a kiss._

_This goodbye was a bittersweet one. _

_Both of them knew that this was the end. _

_There would never be Charlie and Tyler again. The couple. Boyfriend and girlfriend._

_There would only be Charlie and Tyler. Friends._

_And a final smile was shared as Tyler hopped into the car, while Charlotte watched the car as it drove away, until it turned the corner and disappeared from sight._

"Charlie!"

Charlotte was broken from her thoughts when she heard her aunt yelling for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you ready yet?"

Looking at herself in the mirror one last time, she ran her fingers through her chestnut hair and hopped off the counter, putting everything away before hurrying downstairs to where Aunt Jenna was standing, waiting for her by the front door.

[]

Charlotte was walking through the trees alongside her aunt and Elijah, the dried fall leaves crunching beneath her feet with every step she took.

She was trailing slowly behind Jenna and the Original. Bored. But she had wanted to tag along to spend more time with Elijah.

"The old Fell property actually starts just beyond that fence." Jenna informed the man to her right.

"Ah, the Fells…one of the Founding Families." Elijah noted in a condescending tone.

"Why do you say it like that?" Jenna smirked.

Charlotte perked up wanting to know the answer as well and sped up so that she was right beside the two.

"My research showed me that this area was actually settled almost two full centuries earlier." Elijah explained. "It was a migration of townsfolk from the northeast, um, it was Salem, to be precise."

"Massachusetts?" Jenna questioned with creased brows. "As in the witch trials?"

Charlotte let out a huff at that and grumbled something under her breath that caused Elijah to choke back a chuckle.

"Which means the every lauded founding families…they didn't actually found anything." He finished with a smile.

Charlotte's phone began to beep causing her to pull it from her pocket ignoring the rest of the conversation. It wasn't until she heard Alaric approach that she pulled her eyes away from the screen and focused on what was before her.

"Elijah, this is my friend, Alaric Saltzman." Aunt Jenna introduced.

"Yeah, I got your message about walking Elijah here through the old property lines." Alaric said, "I thought I would tag along. You know…being a history buff and all. Where to next?"

Charlotte sucked her bottom lip into her mouth to try and hide the smirk that was coming about.

"I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners. Some say, you know, the descendents of the slaves are the true keepers of American history." Elijah informed.

Once Jenna absorbed this information, she began to speak.

"Well, I only brought the surveys. I got the list in the car. Just give me a sec." She casually touched Elijah's arm before walking away and towards her car.

Charlotte's eyes flickered between the two men. Amusement played on Elijah's face while Alaric's was stony.

"Alaric Saltzman." Elijah said. "So you're one of those people on Elena's list of loved ones to protect."

"So is Jenna." Alaric stated.

What Elijah said next caused Charlotte to guffaw.

"You don't have to be jealous. I don't really pursue younger women." Elijah smirked.

When Alaric didn't react her decided to continue.

"It's a joke, Ric, lighten up."

"Right."

Just as Jenna was coming back towards the group, Charlotte decided it was time to split.

"Jer just texted me," Charlotte informed her aunt. "I'm gonna head over to the Grill to meet him, he wanted to talk."

Charlotte started to walk away when her aunt yelled after her.

"How are you getting there?"

Charlotte turned, walking backwards and small knowing smile playing across her plump lips.

"It's a nice day, I'm gonna walk." She told her, before continuing, trying not to laugh. "But you have fun, after all we know how men can get…very territorial."

With that final statement, she tossed a wink in Alaric's direction before turning back around and continuing her trek, not realizing just how long it was going to take.

[]

By the time Charlotte made it to the Grill, her feet were aching and she could feel herself sweating.

Walking inside, she looked around before finally spotting her younger brother sitting with her best friend.

Quirking a brow, Charlotte made her way towards their table before pulling up a chair and sitting with them. Jeremy looked shocked for a minute before clearing his throat.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked him, sending Bonnie a quick smile.

"We can talk about it later." Jeremy told her, his eyes flickering to Bonnie for a split second that Charlotte thought she imagined it.

Putting the pieces together, her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Are you two…together?"

Jeremy was quick on the defense.

"What?...No!"

"Riiight." Charlotte drawled out. "But you want to be."

The chestnut haired girl turned her eyes to the ebony beauty she called her best friend and raised a perfectly manicured brow.

"Something you want to tell me Bon?" Charlotte inquired.

When her eyes flickered back and forth between the two and noticed that they were avoiding her glances, a smile split her face.

"You guys have my blessing," she told them. "You know, just in case."

Deciding to save both of her loved ones from further embarrassment, Charlotte stood up from the chair and put it back.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the bar to get me a Shirley temple."

Tossing the duo a knowing wink, the teenage girl made her way through the Grill, a snarl forming on her lips when she spotted the last person she wanted to see.

Damon.

"Well hello pretty girl." Damon greeted once he reached her only to be ignored.

"Goodbye." Charlotte replied, grabbing her drink and walking away towards a booth.

She placed her drink on the table before unbuttoning her jacket and sliding it off. She slid into the booth but only had a moment's peace before Damon slid in across from her.

"You know," Charlotte started. "When someone ignores you, it's usually because they want you to leave them alone."

"Now why would I do that?"

The teenage girl took a sip of her drink before bringing her fingers to her temples and beginning to rub.

"I'm tired of this Damon." She finally whispered, looking up at the vampire with sullen eyes. "This back and forth between us. Maybe it's time to realize that you and me…we're no good."

Damon's expression was one of hurt.

"I'm sorry Charlotte. How many times do you want me to say it?"

"Saying it doesn't mean you actually mean it." She grumbled.

Damon took her words and decided what he had to do.

"Then I'll prove it." He told her. "And when I do, we can go back to the way we were before."

Charlotte went to speak but was cut off when Andie slid in beside Damon. She grabbed her drink and went to slide out of the booth when Alaric blocked her path, sliding in beside her.

The girl let out a huff before rolling her eyes at the history teacher.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were busy marking your territory?" She questioned with sarcasm.

Alaric grumbled something under his breath before focusing his eyes on Damon.

Charlotte's gaze moved to the extra cherries in her glass, trying to block out the conversation around her, but when she heard Elijah's name, she perked up.

"What are planning?" She asked, her eyes narrowed at Damon. "What do you want with Elijah?"

Damon quirked a brow at her.

"What do _you_ know about Elijah?"

Charlotte's jaw set and she tried to avoid his steely blue gaze.

Nobody knew about her and Elijah, nobody even knew that she knew about Elijah, and she completely just ruined it by opening her mouth.

"Nothing," She answered, trying to keep her voice even. "All I know about him is of what I learned today. He likes his history."

When Damon looked away from her and back at Alaric, Charlotte let out a relieved breath, but she tensed once more when Damon opened his mouth again.

"Ah, there's Jenna with her new boyfriend."

He tossed Alaric a sly look before waving Jenna and Elijah over to the table.

"Hi."

"Hey guys." Jenna smiled as she approached the table, casting a quick glance at Charlotte, her brows furrowing. "I thought you were meeting your brother?"

"I did." Charlotte replied, clearing her throat. "We talked earlier."

Elijah sent her a small smile and she quickly returned it which Damon caught.

"So I hear you two had quite the meeting of historical minds today." Damon smirked.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Jenna replied a smile gracing her lips.

Alaric seemed to have enough because right after he bid adieu.

"Well, as much as I'd like to continue this, I've got papers to grade." He told everyone standing up.

"No, you know what?" As soon as Andie's voice rang out Charlotte cringed. "We should continue this. Let's have a dinner party."

Damon turned to glance at Andie.

"Ooh, my girl." He drawled out. "Full of good ideas."

"I wonder where she even got them from, surely not from that pea sized brain of hers." Charlotte mumbled under her breath standing up.

Jenna must have heard her because Charlotte soon felt a light slap on her butt and looked up to see an admonishing look on her aunt's face.

"I'll be happy to host. Say tonight. Maybe?" Damon suggested, ignoring Charlotte's words.

"It's good for me." Andie said. "Jenna?"

"I don't know if tonight works…" Alaric mumbled not really wanting to have dinner with both Jenna and Elijah.

"I'm free." Jenna told everyone.

Charlotte went to walk away before Elijah's voice stopped her.

"It'd be a pleasure…" Elijah spoke. "If of course, Charlotte would accompany me?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Charlotte.

But Damon already had it decided.

"Great!"

And Charlotte could have sworn from the glint in her eyes that he was planning something.

"I'm gonna grab a burger." She said walking away before anyone could say anything.

She ventured to the other side of the Grill and sat down at a table, waiting patiently for a waiter to come and take her order. Resting her head down on the table, Charlotte wished that she could just disappear or things would go back to normal.

When there weren't any vampires, or witches, or wolves; when she didn't have to play sacrificial lamb.

She almost let out a groan when she heard someone slide into the booth across from her, but when she lifted her head, she gave a soft smile.

"What's troubling you, sweet sister?" Elijah asked soothingly.

Just as she was about to speak, a waiter finally arrived and she ordered a burger.

"You know, we will be eating dinner in only a short while." Elijah reminded her.

"And I have a feeling I'll lose my appetite as soon as I walk through the door." She answered knowingly.

Elijah folded his hand on the table in front of him, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Something's up." Charlotte told him. "Damon's a schemer, he's planning something. He has an ulterior motive for holding this dinner party."

"And why do you think that?" her brother questioned.

"Damon has what I like to call an "Elena complex"." She began. "It's where he and Stefan will do anything to make sure she's protected and safe. They see you as a threat to their precious Elena."

Charlotte stopped talking when her food came faster than she expected and she began to pick at it before continuing.

"And A + B = C. And C is getting you out of the picture. Even if it means getting them killed, they'll still do what they have to make sure Elena's safe."

She picked up a bunch of fries and shoved them in her mouth only looking at Elijah when she heard a chuckle escape his mouth.

"You're jealous!" He exclaimed softly.

Charlotte's hazel eyes turned to slits and she swallowed the food in her mouth before picked up a fry and chucked it at Elijah's chest.

"I am _not_ jealous!" She hissed. "I have nothing to be jealous about!"

She picked up her burger and took a big chunk out of it, her mouth filled much more than she could easily chew.

"Why dear sister, I **do** believe you are jealous."

All while she was chewing, Charlotte never once lifted her murderous gaze off of Elijah. Once she swallowed, she took a quick sip of water before slamming her glass back down.

"I'm not jealous." She repeated, before letting out a sigh. "I'm just fed up. I'm tired of being everyone's second choice. You know, when Damon came to town, I was the only one he had, I stood up for him and stood by him when no one else would. He never had to compel me…not that he could—but I was there. And when I need him, he's too bothered with Elena. It's always about Elena. She's prettier than me, and she's smarter than me…I bet our friends even like her more than me."

Realizing she was ranting, Charlotte's gaze dropped and she fingered the edge of her napkin, before her eyes snapped back up and met Elijah's somber ones.

"But I'm **not** jealous."

Elijah tossed his hand up in mock defeat and gave her a soft smile.

"Of course your not; how foolish of me to even think such a thing." He told her.

Charlotte picked up her burger again, staring at it for a second before dropping it back down onto her plate.

"Things were so much easier when I was just a normal teenager. All I had to worry about was school…and Tyler…and cheerleading…making sure I got up on time…what clothes to wear…wonder—"

"Charlotte…" Elijah's voice cut her off from her ranting and she focused on him. "How about I take you home to prepare for dinner?"

The chestnut haired girl thought for a second before nodding her head, pulling money from her wallet and leaving it on the table.

"Promise me something?" She asked her brother as she stood.

Once Elijah nodded, she continued.

"Please, for the sake of my sanity…be careful tonight. If something seems out of place or out of the ordinary…leave." Charlotte whispered softly, reaching out to grasp his hand. "I lost you once; I couldn't bear to lose you again."

Bringing her dainty hand up to his lips, he pressed a soft kiss to back of it, before gently nodding his head.

"I promise."

[]

When the duo pulled up to the boarding house, Elijah stepped around to open the passenger door before Charlotte even reached the handle, and he grasped her hand helping her out.

"Get ready for hell." She murmured as they walked to the door.

Almost as soon as they knocked, the door flew open, revealing the oldest Salvatore brother.

"Good evening." Elijah greeted.

Damon turned his head to Charlotte expecting a hello but all he got was a grunt.

"Thank you for coming." He spoke knowing that was all he was going to get out of the girl. "Please, come in."

Damon moved aside, motioning with his arm to the foyer.

"Just one moment;" Elijah said, making him pause. "Can I just say, that if you have less than honorable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider."

"Well, you sure get straight to the point." Charlotte muttered.

"No, nothing, nothing dishonorable." Damon reassured. "Just getting to know you."

"Hmm…Well, that's good." Elijah told him. "Because, you know, although Elena and I have this deal, if you so much as make a move to cross me, I'll kill you and I'll kill everyone in this house. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Damon agreed.

"Except Jenna, right?" Charlotte interjected. "You know, cause she's my aunt and everything."

"Except Jenna." Elijah reassured her.

"Well then, now that that's settled," Charlotte murmured, stepping pass Damon and into the house, a smile splitting across her face as she spotted the woman they were just speaking of.

"Great night isn't it?" She greeted.

Jenna gave her a sarcastic smile and chuckled.

"Well I'm sure it's just about to get even better for you." Jenna told her, causing her niece to furrow her brows and look around in confusion.

"Charlie, I haven't seen you in a while."

Charlotte turned around and pursed her lips, making Jenna snicker.

"You have got to be shitting me." She muttered as she looked across the room at John. "Yep, this night just can't get any better, can it?"

Some time later, everyone was gathered around the table eating dinner, Charlotte's hazel eyes rolling every once in a while with boredom.

"I hate to break it to you, Damon," Jenna began, "But according to Elijah, your family is not a founder of this town."

"Hmm…do tell." Damon encouraged with false wonder.

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s." Elijah explained. "Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."

"Hmm, because they were witches." Jenna nodded in agreement.

"If you can excuse me…" Charlotte stood up from her chair and pushed it back, placing a gentle hand on Elijah's shoulder. "I need to use the lady's room."

Finally escaping from the room, Charlotte took a deep breath of air. She was beginning to feel lightheaded.

Walking into the bathroom, she turned on the sink and let the water run until it was icy cold. Grabbing a hand towel from underneath, she ran it under the water before bringing it up to dab at her face and neck, hoping that the cold would bring her some ease.

Disposing of the towel, she walked from the bathroom and saw the door to a guest room slightly open.

Maybe she could disappear for a while without anyone noticing.

Walking into the bedroom, she quietly closed the door partway and ventured to the bed, crawling on top of it and snuggling her head into the pillow.

Charlotte was just going to rest her eyes…but before she knew it, she was out like a light.

[]

Just when everyone was beginning to clean up from dinner, Jenna realized that her niece hadn't returned.

"Where's Charlie?" She asked looking around.

Damon turned to Jenna saying that he'd look and thought of it as the perfect opportunity to finally speak to Charlotte alone and hopefully resolve their issues.

The vampire made his way down the hall and seeing that she wasn't in the bathroom turned and went to look for her but his journey didn't last long.

Hearing a soft sigh, Damon pushed open the door across the hall and a smile came to his lips at the sight before him.

As quietly as he could, he walked over to the bed and slipped off her shoes, gently pulled the blankets down from underneath her and tucking her into the bed. Damon's smile grew when Charlotte snuggled even deeper into the bed and pulled the blankets more tightly around her.

Pressing a soft kiss to her brow, Damon turned and went to walk away from her and stopped short when he witnessed Elijah standing in the door frame.

"You care greatly for her?" Elijah whispered.

"Of course I do." Damon snarled, "What kind of question is that?"

Elijah looked Damon over, scrutiny playing on his classic features.

"Well, you must not show it, because she doesn't believe you do." The Original told him before turning on his heel and leaving the younger vampire to his thoughts.

Damon knew that he hadn't been the best to Charlotte lately, but did she really believe that he didn't care?

He shook his worries from his mind, he had an Original to get rid of, and Charlotte could be taken care of after that problem was disposed of.

[]

Charlotte woke up some time later and noticed that the sky was dark. She looked around quickly, it finally occurring to her how she got there and she stood from the bed, stretching as she took her first steps.

Finding her shoes on the side of the bed, she bent and slipped them onto her feet and ventured from the room, and at once noticed how quiet it was in the boarding house.

The hazel eyed girl found her purse on one of the couches and rifled through it, pulling out her phone and dialing Elijah's number.

"Where is he?" She whispered under her breath.

And then she heard it, the ringing phone.

She followed the sound until it led her to the basement door and she began taking the steps to the cellar, only to find her sister standing around with the Salvatore brothers.

Elijah's phone was in the eldest brother's hand.

Charlotte slowly pulled her phone away from her ear and pressed end, her hazel eyes glancing at all three of them in confusion before stepping forward, prying the Original's phone from Damon's hand.

And when she turned her head, she felt as if he heart stopped.

"What is this?" Charlotte cried out, taking a step towards Elijah's body that lay on the cold cement floor, the hilt of a dagger sticking out of his chest.

She didn't make it very far because Damon's arm wrapped around her waist pulling her back.

Charlotte wrenched from his grasp and turned around to face him, her eyes narrowed and angry.

"Is this how your gonna prove that your sorry? By taking away the only person I have in this world that understands me!?"

Damon could see Charlotte's eyes flickering back and forth between their normal hazel and a bright gold.

"Charlie…" Elena whispered, taking a step towards her sister.

"What's the big deal!?" Damon yelled out. "He's dangerous Charlotte! He couldn't be trusted! You've been spending how ever many days with him in secret and all of a sudden you know him?"

Charlotte gave a fed up chuckle.

"Yeah, Damon, I do know him. And he knows everything about me! He knows things that I don't even know about myself. My past life." She hissed, her small fists clenching and unclenching. "He's my brother! But you know what else I know?"

Charlotte could see the shock that registered across Damon's face but she didn't care.

"I hate you!" She snarled. "You're never gonna change. And when you're all alone and everyone turns their backs on you. I'm not going to be there like I always am, like I always was. Because you take _everyone_ away from me! My _**sister**_, Mason, and now Elijah! Everything was fine before you came into town. You and Stefan, you ruined **everything**!"

Damon's face was crestfallen as he absorbed her words and he didn't even react when she pushed past him and fled from the didn't mean it, he kept repeating inside of his head, she couldn't have meant it.

Elena tried running after her sister, calling her name, but she didn't reach her in time.

[]

Charlotte's trek home didn't take as long because of the speed at which she walked and she rushed into the house and up the stairs, pulling a duffel bag down from the top shelf of her closet as soon as she entered her bedroom and began throwing clothes into it.

Once it was filled to the brim, she walked to her bathroom getting everything she would need and tossed it into the bag, pressing down so that she could zip it as much as she could.

Looking around her room to see if there was anything she was forgetting, she finally turned off the lights and made her way back down the stairs and out of the front door.

She couldn't stay there anymore.

If only she could disappear.

* * *

**A/N:**

So I keep thinking that this could have been written better, to me it's kind of just like…blah! Hope you still enjoyed it.

Apologies for any errors, I was just too eager to get this out and skimmed through it really fast and I probably missed some stuff!

So there are a few flashbacks during this chapter, most to do with Elijah but also a bittersweet goodbye with Tyler (I just wanted to add that because it turned out kind of cute!) And more drama…Charlotte's kinda going on a rollercoaster ride of emotions with her highs and lows.

And I'm going to rant for a second, I _like_ Klaus and Caroline together, and something's burning inside of be when I see Caroline and Stefan together :) But I **l o v e** Tyler and Caroline! There's just something about those two together that makes me all warm and fuzzy and lovey inside and I swear if Klaus tears them apart I'm going to go ape shit! And new werewolf girl is a crazy and I hate herrrr! Grrrrr…

Btw…I'm gonna jump around in the next chapter…so there is quite the possibility that we will be seeing Klaus :) like….**really** seeing him! *wink wink*


	28. Chapter 27: The Last Dance

**A/N**: Guess who's here!? I hope this chapter turns out the way you all expect/want it to :) I feel as if I'm losing my flow but hopefully I get it back!

And thank you for all the support and reviews…they really make me feel great about this story and make me want to continue writing!

Sorry for this chapter's lateness, I was hoping to finish school earlier in the month but English took me forever. But better late than never, right?

So I'm not going to bore you any longer…on with the chapter :) :)

* * *

Chapter 27: The Last Dance

"She sleeps. That's all she does." Caroline told them. "And the only time she gets up is when she has to go the bathroom or when she's hungry."

There was a frown on Elena's face as she listened to Caroline's words.

"And you know what the worst part is?" The blonde haired girl asked rhetorically. "She hasn't showered in like…a week. She's got it all. The greasy hair, the stinky arm pits. I'd be surprised if she's even been changing her underwear. I don't know what you did to your sister Elena. But this…this person…is **not** my Charlie."

"Caroline!" Bonnie hissed.

Caroline turned to her witchy friend and feigned innocence.

"I'm just telling the truth." She said shrugging her shoulders. "And besides, she's the one who asked how Charlotte is."

"I just…" Elena began solemnly. "I wish there was something I could do, something to fix us."

Bonnie nodded her head in understanding, walking through the door of school.

"It's gonna take time, Elena." The dark skinned girl told her friend. "You seem to forget that you're not the only one going through a lot. Charlie is too. Her life's been turned upside down, and then Elijah comes and helps her find bits and pieces of herself and then you take him away from her."

"Did you guys know?" Elena asked. "About her and Elijah?"

Both girls shook their head.

"We didn't find out until she showed up on Care's doorstep and told us what happened."

"Well, if you want to fix things, you can try today." Caroline told Elena. "She's coming to school. Well she said she was, but I'm not sure anymore because she wasn't in bed when I woke up this morning."

Confusion etched across the girls features before Elena spoke up.

"She probably just went for a run."

"Well she better be in school, we have to finish making plans for the dance tonight." Caroline huffed.

The girls split to their designated lockers, getting the stuff they would need for class, Elena hoping that today her sister would at least acknowledge her once she arrived.

[]

A little ways outside of Mystic Falls, Charlotte was found peacefully asleep.

_Charlotte was wandering through the garden, basking in the heat of the morning sun. Her mind was wandering to the future her and Niklaus would have._

_She noticed him coming towards her from the corner of her eye and turned around to face him, sending a dazzling smile which he quickly returned. Once he reached his precious gem, he grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together and pulled her along._

"_Marry me?" _

"_Niklaus!" Charlotte's melodic laugh wafted straight to his ears. "I believe that you have already asked me this! Or have you gone senile in your old age?"_

_Even after she was done teasing him, Niklaus' expression was still serious, and he shook his head, causing his blonde locks to become messy. _

"_No…marry me…tonight!"_

_Charlotte turned to him, her hazel eyes wide with shock. She was speechless. And seeing this, Niklaus elaborated. _

"_We can ride to the next village over! I can't wait a moment longer." He told her, his eyes passing over her face to see if she understood his words. "As soon as the moon reaches its peak, meet me at the stables."_

_The way his blue eyes were looking at her made Charlotte's heart skip a beat. _

_She launched herself into his arms and pressed a firm kiss to lips, her fingers weaving themselves into his golden locks._

_Charlotte pulled away and nodded her head erratically._

"_Yes!" She repeated, over and over again. _

_Niklaus gave her a soft push in the direction of their family's home, before pulling her back and pressing one last kiss to her lips. _

"_Tonight, you become my wife." He whispered. "Do not be late." _

_Charlotte pressed another kiss to his lips before picking up her skirts and running the rest of the way to the house. _

_[]_

_When the moon reached its peak, Charlotte snuck from the house and to the stables where Niklaus was waiting. _

_He pulled her into his arms kissing her gently, and then lifted her onto his horse; climbing on behind her once she was situated. _

_And then…they rode off into the night. _

_Charlotte could feel the cool wind biting against her exposed flesh, slightly reddening the lightly sun-kissed skin. _

_It was only a short while later when they arrived at their destination. Niklaus swiftly departed the horse before grasping one of Charlotte's soft and delicate hands, helping her down. _

_They were going to get married._

_They were going to spend the rest of their lives together. _

_And even though it wasn't going to be perfect and their family wasn't there. _

_It was going to be __**perfect.**_

_The two lovers stood at the alter. Charlotte's hazel orbs locked solely on the blue ones before her. _

_They blocked out the rest of the world as they recited their vows to one another. _

"_Deepest of your love is my love. The promise of your life is my life. Wherever you go, I will follow. Where your head lay, I will stay. Until my dying day."_

"_Everything I am is your love. Everyday I live is for your love. Always you and I. If ever one soul were meant for mine, I have been blessed for a lifetime."_

"_Forever my love is yours." _

_They shared soft smiles, love burning in their eyes as the priest spoke his final words. _

"_I now pronounce you, man and wife." _

_And the newlyweds shared their first kiss as husband and wife; the lights from the flickering flames of the candles scattered around the room making a soft, warm glow dance across their skin. _

_Niklaus slowly pulled from the kiss but Charlotte could still feel his warm breath across her moist lips. Their foreheads resting against one another, and eyes still closed._

"_Mrs. Mikaelson," he whispered causing cheshire grins to break out against both of their faces. "Why I quite like it, love."_

_Charlotte's eyes slowly opened as she stared up at him in a daze. Her heart was swelling with happiness. _

_Her husband pulled her from the church and back out to his loyal steed where they rode back to their village._

_Once the horse was back in the stables, the two lovers made their way through the forest and to their special spot. _

_As soon as they reached the small clearing, Charlotte turned and gazed lovingly up at her new husband, who quickly leaned down and pressed his mouth on hers. The kiss was filled with passion, and nothing in either of their lives could have prepared them for what they felt in that kiss._

_Niklaus could only wish that they could freeze time and spend forever in that moment, but he knew it was impossible. _

_As much as it pained her to do so, Charlotte finally tore her swollen lips away from Niklaus'. _

"_What now?" She asked in a whisper, looking up at him._

_The glow of the moon lit up his face as he smiled widely. _

"_Now we practice." _

_Light laughter rang through the night as Niklaus took his wife to the ground, one hand at her waist, the other cupping her cheek. _

_His blue eyes were filled with lust and love, and his desires were mirrored in Charlotte's own hazel orbs._

"_This is the beginning of forever, my love." _

_And he sealed his promise with a gentle kiss. _

[]

Klaus took one glance at Elena before turning to the board and beginning to tell the class about the sixties, but before he continued, the door to the classroom flew open and when he turned to address the interruption, his breath caught in his throat and he felt as though his heart would stop.

[]

Charlotte entered history class, a late pass in her hand, the memory from earlier still plaguing her thoughts.

Caroline threw her hands up in the air and said hallelujah when she caught sight of her best friend.

"Oh thank God, you finally showered."

Charlotte tossed a glare in her direction, and turned her head to the history teacher when she heard him whisper her name.

"Sorry I'm late." She whispered, reaching her hand out to give him the pass.

When there fingertips touched, all that Klaus wanted to do was grasp her hand and pull her into his arms.

But they weren't his arms so he'd have to wait.

It wasn't her.

It couldn't be possible.

But Klaus knew. He knew his love better than anyone else and this was _**her**_ standing before him in all of her beauty.

Remembering where he was, the Original cleared his throat and stepped away from her.

He had to focus.

Giving Charlotte a curt nod, the chestnut haired teen turned to go to her seat but stopped short realizing that it was between her sister and Stefan.

Elena gave her a hopeful look but Charlotte's eyes flickered around the classroom and caught sight of an empty chair by Caroline and she hastened to take it.

"Where were you this morning?" Caroline hissed in her ear as soon as she sat down.

Charlotte thought about to answer for a moment before she responded.

"I couldn't sleep, I just needed some air."

"Well you could have woke me and told me! I was worried!" Caroline admonished.

"Girls!"

The two friends stopped their bickering and turned back around to face the front of the classroom. Although Alaric was speaking to both of them, his eyes were solely focused on the chestnut haired Charlotte.

Clearing her throat, she muttered a quick apology before looking down at her hands that were placed on the top of the desk.

[]

As Klaus went about talking of the sixties, he couldn't help but stealing glances at Charlotte.

She had a look on her face that didn't wither. It was a look that he was familiar with from one thousand years ago.

She was deep in thought and those thoughts of hers were plaguing.

Klaus could not stop getting distracted by her; for over one thousand years, all he had were drawings and paintings. Now the real thing was sitting right in front of him.

And he wasn't about to let her go. Even if the girl before him wasn't the real deal.

Pulling from his thoughts and taking his eyes away from Charlotte, he continued on with the boring lesson.

His eyes were pulled back to her, however, when she abruptly stood from her chair and grabbed her bag from the floor.

Klaus heard four voices call her name but that didn't stop Charlotte from walking out of the classroom.

With narrowed eyes, he turned back to the students before him, taking the time to look at the four who called her name.

Something was wrong with his wife, and he could bet anything that it had to do with them; specifically the Petrova doppelgänger.

That one had a way of destroying his love, and in turn, he would destroy her.

[]

Charlotte's heels could be heard clacking against the school hall's floor.

She had to get out of there. She couldn't take sitting there a moment longer.

It couldn't be possible. They couldn't be the same people.

Niklaus. Klaus.

She refused to believe it.

And why was she remembering all of this now? Why now?

[]

Klaus left the school as soon as the final bell rang, pulling his phone from his pocket and dialing Maddox, giving him direct orders.

Twenty minutes later, the Original found himself nearing the edge of the clearing; the same one where Bonnie took Charlotte to practice, the same one where Charlotte took Elijah only weeks before.

Klaus' stormy blue eyes looked to the exact spot Elijah's did when he was at the forest's edge. It was the same place that made Elijah's breathes shaky and his blood running cold.

It was what was happening to Klaus right at that moment.

He hadn't been there since.

Slowly, with deep breathes, he inched his way into the small clearing, his eyes falling shut as a lone tear slid down his left cheek.

He had to know.

Composing himself as soon as he heard a twig snap behind him, Klaus turned to see Maddox with the shovel he asked for.

Walking towards his witch, he tore it from his hand and quickly dismissed the warlock.

Taking tentative steps, he found himself beneath the oak tree and struck the shovel into the ground, more tears falling freely from his eyes as the pile of dirt next to him grew.

_Kol came back through the trees to still see his older brother hunched over her body; his other siblings all standing around with mournful expressions upon their faces. _

_Stepping forward, Kol began to speak._

"_We should take her back to the village, give her a proper burial and find who did this." He whispered to Niklaus. _

_With scathing eyes, Niklaus looked upon his younger brother and snarled. _

"_No! I am her husband." He hissed. "I know what she would want. Those people didn't care about her! They didn't love her! Not like I did!" _

_He looked down upon Charlotte's face, his fingers brushing over her chestnut locks as more tears fell from his eyes._

_Elijah took a step towards Niklaus and placed a tentative hand._

"_Brother, she was our sister—"_

_Elijah was shoved back as Niklaus rose from the ground._

"_She is my __**wife**__!" He roared._

_His reddened face was slowly turning flushed and the next words were spoken more softly._

"_She was my wife. She's gone, Elijah. I will never hold her again. I will never feel the warmth of her in my arms, or the sun shining in her eyes. She's dead."_

_Elijah stepped forward and pulled his younger brother into a fierce hug._

"_She's in your heart, brother. Always." He whispered. _

_When they pulled apart, Kol handed Niklaus a ivory blanket, and without needing to ask, the blonde haired man already knew what it was for. _

"_She'll be buried here." He murmured. "It's where all of our memories are, where our love began." _

_His blue eyes drifted to the other side of the clearing, where a tall oak tree stood._

"_Under her favorite tree." _

_Niklaus moved back to Charlotte, bending down and gathering her still and cold form in his strong arms. _

_The Mikaelson siblings followed as he carried her to the spot she would be buried, and once Kol and Finn spread out the ivory blanket, he laid her gently in the center. _

_For over an hour, the three Mikaelson sons dug the hole where their sister would rest. _

_Niklaus and Rebekah by Charlotte's side, both with tears still streaming down their cheeks from the blue eyes. _

_Once deemed deep enough, they stepped from the hole, Rebekah stepping away from her sister, to allow her brothers to give their goodbyes. When they were finished, Niklaus undid the clasp of his wife's necklace and slipped the small gold band from it before clasping it back. _

_Quickly putting the ring on his own chain, the small dainty band, slid until it rested next to a much larger one; his own wedding band. _

"_Give us a moment." Niklaus whispered to his siblings without looking away from Charlotte's face. _

_It was silent as his brothers and sister walked a few feet away. The only sound to be heard was the sound of the cool wind blowing through the leaves that adorned the tall oak trees. _

_The back of Niklaus' hand was gently stroking his beloved's cheek. _

_His eyes never left her face as he spent time memorizing every feature…every dimple and mark. _

"_I will always love you. Only you." He whispered. "Nobody shall ever have my heart because it is yours."_

_His soft voice soon turned hard and his eyes narrowed even with the tears falling down his chin. _

"_I will find who did this to you. And I will kill everyone they love just so that they know an ounce of my pain. I will end their family line. Another shall never walk this earth."_

_Niklaus placed one last long and firm kiss to her forehead before her covered her with the thin fabric and nodded his head to his brothers. _

_He stood as they came over and walked to his sister while his brothers gently placed Charlotte in the ground. _

_As they began to fill the hole in which she lay, the tears began to pour even more and the blonde haired man clenched his jaw to stop the sobs that wanted to escape. _

_Once she was completely buried, the Mikaelson children made their way out of the clearing, Niklaus only took a moment to stand at the edge and take one glance back, a whispered 'I love you' that was carried with the wind._

_His eyes became cold as he walked through the woods to catch up with his siblings. _

_It was in that moment that Niklaus vowed to never step back in that clearing. Where all of their memories were held; it was too painful. _

Klaus pulled from his memories when the ivory blanket became visible through a thin layer of dirt.

Pushing away the rest of the grainy earth, he tore threw fabric, but only felt the hard ground beneath.

When he moved the edges aside, the only thing he found laying there was the necklace that he buried her with.

The necklace he gave her for her birthday some thousand years ago.

When their love first began.

His eyes watered even more and a soft smile came to his lips as he grasped the necklace tightly in his hand.

"It's really you," he whispered. "You've come back to me."

[]

A knock was heard at the door and Alaric walked through, apologizing for being late, and asking what he missed so far.

"Charlie here was just telling us how she knows what Klaus looks like." Damon informed him, a sarcastic smile on his face.

Charlotte's jaw clenched. She didn't want to be here. The only reason she was, was because Bonnie asked her to be.

"How do you know what he looks like?" Elena questioned, getting back to the subject.

Charlotte walked over to sit on the arm of the couch, running her hands over her face.

"Because Klaus…he was…is? I don't know, but in my past life, Niklaus was my husband."

Now the faces in the room turned to shock.

"Your husband?" Elena hissed.

"You were married to the man who wants to use your sister for some sacrifice?" Stefan inquired rhetorically, hoping that saying the words aloud would help him understand better.

Bonnie, knowing that this could be the end of the sisterhood between Elena and Charlie, walked over and rubbed a hand along the chestnut haired girl's shoulder, sending the doppelganger a look to tell to silence herself.

"And you've been keeping this from us, for how long?" Damon looked at her expectantly.

"It was different. When I first met Elijah and when he touched me, it was like all of the past we shared came flooding back, but I only remembered the moments that me and him shared alone. Everything around us was blurry." She started to explain. "Katherine, we talked and she explained to me about Klaus and I didn't know that it was the man I was dreaming about until I put the pieces together. And then this morning, I woke up in a field a little ways out of town. That's why I was late to school."

"What does a field have to do with anything? What does it have to do with Klaus?" Elena asked her sister, wanting a further explanation.

"A thousand years ago, that field used to hold a church, or something like it." Charlotte's eyes began to get glossy the more she spoke. "He came to me that morning in the garden, asking me to marry him, but I laughed at him because he had already previously asked me. But then he told me that he wanted to marry me that night, that we'd ride over to the next town and be married. I didn't want to, because I didn't want to do it without our family there, but father would have never approved. So we had to do it alone."

Charlotte took a deep breath before letting out a watery laugh, Klaus, in Alaric's body, was remembering that day, his eyes locked on his wife the whole time she was speaking.

"It was like some big secret mission. I remember running home as quickly as I could to get ready. When everyone was asleep that night, I snuck out to the stables; he was there, waiting for me with a horse already prepared. And we rode to the next village over and we were married; we took our vows before God. It wasn't perfect, I wasn't in some beautiful dress like I'd imagine a wedding now. But I was with him, I was his. And he was mine. And I couldn't have ever wanted anything more. Husband and wife."

"I woke up in that field this morning, and I suddenly remembered everything. Katherine told me that it would all come back to me in time. And it did. I remembered _everything. _Our first kiss, when he told me he loved me, when he taught me to dance, when he asked me to marry him, the first time we made love, when we shared our deepest fears with each other. I remember every moment we spent together."

Damon scoffed with a shake of his head and downed the rest of the scotch that was in his glass.

"Well, hold on to those memories, pretty girl. Because that's all you're gonna have left of your precious Klaus."

Charlotte's eyes locked with the burning sapphire of Damon's and she could feel her heart clenching painfully inside of her chest.

"Yeah, Damon, I know. Because everyone in this room knows you'll stop at nothing to save your precious Elena. No matter who it is that gets hurt. And she's not even _yours_ in to begin with. It seems that all the Petrova doppelgangers have that certain something in common. Besides, the Niklaus I fell in love with a thousand years ago obviously isn't the Klaus that exists today."

"Maybe this is what she meant." Elena said aloud, garnering everyone's attention. "Maybe this is when it's supposed to happen."

Confusion finally flickered across everyone's face, until Bonnie finally realized what Elena meant.

"You mean Charlotte giving her light to kill Klaus. Elena, if Charlotte gives her light she dies! So what, you want to sacrifice your sister and save yourself?" Bonnie asked. "I can kill him; I have the power to do it."

"But there's a chance that it won't work! Charlotte can get rid of him. Isn't this what she was born to do?" Elena yelled. "So she sacrifices herself and then she'll be reborn again like all those other times!"

"Not in this lifetime she won't! Wasn't it just this morning when you wanted to fix things with her?" The witch told her. "I can do this! Keep her out of this; she's not sacrificing her life. I'm doing this so I don't lose you. Well guess what Elena, I'm not losing Charlie either."

Charlotte sent a look at Damon, who stood silent the whole time.

"And I take it that you agree with Katherine 2.0?" She questioned, quietly, silent streams making tracks down her cheeks. "I remember a time when you said that it would never happen, that you wouldn't let anything happen to me. But I guess times change, huh, Salvatore?"

Charlotte's glistening eyes looked at the people before her before they landed on her sister.

"There are more important things than you Elena. And someday you'll realize that. But I can't help you kill him. I won't."

With that, Charlotte turned around stalking from the room, her shaky form being seen for only a moment by everyone in the living room.

"She actually loves him." Elena stated in disgust, but it sounded more like a question.

Even though Bonnie was going to help kill Klaus, she couldn't listen to everyone bash Charlotte.

"Do you guys not have _**one**_sympathetic bone in your body?" She asked appalled. "She had a life before us. And that life was with Klaus. And maybe he was different back then. You said it yourself Damon that vampires can shut off their emotions. Maybe that's what Klaus did when he lost Charlotte. You can't hate her for falling in love, even if it was with him."

Elena wouldn't hear a word of it.

"He's a monster! I'm her family!"

"Yeah, Elena, you are. You're her sister. And you are so willing to just take her life away from her. But he was her family, too. And it's sad; it really is, because she feels that he's the only one that ever cared about her. And you know what? I don't even blame her for thinking that. Cause look at how you're treating her."

Through all of the arguing, nobody had even noticed that Alaric had left the room and followed the route that Charlotte had taken.

[]

Charlotte was outside in the backyard of the Salvatore boarding house, standing at the edge of the forest. The breeze she had created blowing back her chestnut hair and kissing her exposed skin.

The tears she that had began to fall in the house were still streaming down her cheeks.

"Charlotte."

Charlotte turned around when she heard her name being called. When she had seen Alaric approaching her, she just gave him a lazy smile. But the man could see that it didn't reach her eyes.

Klaus had always been able to tell when she was lying. The hazel orbs that he had dreamed about for the past thousand years were dull and void of liveliness. He wanted to see them bright and shining.

The people in that house that claimed to love her, well, they didn't deserve her.

He did. Ever since that day he'd found her body in the clearing, in their clearing, he'd slowly been dying inside. Living without her was like living in his own personal hell.

"Shouldn't you be inside plotting Klaus' demise?" Charlotte asked him when he was finally standing just in front of her.

"Do you love him?" Klaus asked her.

Charlotte gave him a bemused look.

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

Klaus stepped closer to her and grabbed her upper arms, gripping them gently.

"I asked you if you love him."

There was a few moments that the only sound heard was of their breathing and the sound of nature.

"Answer me!"

"Yes!" Charlotte finally cried out. "Yes, I love him, I always have! Since I started having those dreams and until now! I love him! But it doesn't matter, because it could never happen! He'll be dead by tonight."

As soon as the words fell from her lips, she was crushed tightly into Alaric's chest, his arms enveloping around her frame as sobs wracked her body.

"Shh," He whispered, trying to soothe her.

Klaus wanted nothing more to be in his own body and to hold her this way.

"None of that matters, Charlotte. As long as you still love m— him, nothing else matters."

[]

Charlotte tromped her way through the forest and to the clearing.

If anyone saw her, they would have that she had escaped from an asylum for how feral she looked. The expression that marred her features made her look as if she could begin foaming at the mouth at any moment.

"Charlotte!" She shouted toward the sky once she reached the middle. "Charlotte! I know you can hear me!"

Thunder clouds started roaring and rolling in. The once dim, blue sky was turning gray and lightening began to strike, the earth beneath her feet started to quake.

"ANSWER ME!"

And suddenly, the air was knocked from Charlotte's lungs as she fell back, hitting the ground and her eyes closed shut.

[]

When Charlotte's eyes reopened she knew exactly where she was, for she had been there before.

Picking herself up from the surface she was laid out on, she gazed around Mt. Olympus before turning to look at the woman…girl…before her; the mirror version of herself.

"What is all the screaming about?" Grecian Charlotte asked.

"Klaus is here. Is he the one you warned me about?"

The easy thing about looking upon herself, is that she knew all of her tells. So when Grecian Charlotte averted eye contact, pursed her lips and twitched her nose, Charlotte knew that her past self was trying to come up with something.

"I want the truth." She demanded.

"Yes. Klaus is the one I warned you about. I see your memories have returned to you." Grecian Charlotte pointed out.

"Only the ones of him. Of the time I spent with him. I only remember small parts of your time. Of our beginning. But I still don't understand." The more she spoke, the quieter the words came out. "I still don't understand who I am. Or what I am."

With her toga willowing out behind her, Grecian Charlotte made her way to the edge, looking down at the people below her.

"You are the divine light."

Charlotte looked confused and crinkled her nose.

"I'm sorry? Divine what?" She asked the Original her.

"When all of the elements are combined, they create a divine light, and there is nothing more divine than life."

Charlotte didn't know why she couldn't comprehend anything that the Grecian her was saying. It was almost as if she were speaking in riddles.

"You are the Fifth Element, Charlotte. You are the key to creating the divine light. Without you, it is unattainable; unachievable. Without you, it doesn't exist, because you are it. It is the key to saving humanity. To protecting it. You are the key."

"I don't want to be the key. I don't want to be the Fifth Element or the stupid divine light! I just want to be me. A teenage girl, whose only concern should be about getting good grades, hanging out with friends, getting into a great college, getting married and having babies! Those should be my concerns. Not about saving the world. I'm not Superman or Wonder Woman!" Charlotte yelled. "I'm me! And because of _you_, I'm losing everything! My own sister wants to sacrifice me!"

Grecian Charlotte shook her head at the words being spewed.

"You don't have a choice!" She said back as calmly as she could muster. "You need to focus on what your duty is. You cannot act rash when it comes to giving your light. And it was a horrible idea to get attached to people. Because when you get attached, you get hurt. You love them, and they hurt you, Charlotte."

"You act like I had a choice in the matter. These people are my family. The people that I grew up with and spent almost every single day of my life with." Charlotte told the Grecian Charlotte.

"That is why you are only supposed to love them from afar, because when they disappoint you, it doesn't hurt so much. When its people you've been with, the people who you think that you know inside and out, who know you just as much, it hurts much more." Grecian Charlotte told her. "Because you never see it coming, you never thought it could happen. But it does. You'll do well to remember that for future references."

Charlotte contemplated the words being spoken to her.

"You act like you know from experience."

"Our children. The first I ever created. They betrayed me, they took my love for granted. And I destroyed them. I did what needed to be done to protect our other children. To let them live. And when the time comes, you'll know what needs to be done. Because you'll feel it, in your heart, to the very depth inside of you. And then you'll give you light."

Tears began to fall from the teenage girl's hazel eyes.

Just weeks ago, she crawled in bed with Jenna, crying after finding out that she'd have to die.

And then she remembered a quote from a book she once read. It said something about not knowing it's your last time, your last day. And that that was a good thing because if you did know, it would almost be impossible to let go. That it would be like being asked to step off the edge of a cliff and that all you would want to do is get down on all fours, on your hand and knees, and just hold onto it, and never let go.

But it wouldn't be like that for her. Because she'd know; she would know the exact and precise moment that she would give her life, and that's what scared her.

Dying.

That's what always scared her.

At her last thought, the tears started flowing more freely and a sob escaped from her lips.

"Where is he?" She finally asked through her tears. "Where's Niklaus?"

"Not yet, Charlotte. Your time is not yet. But your time here, on Mt. Olympus, has come to an end and you need to go back home."

Charlotte could feel herself getting light headed but before she slipped into unconsciousness, she heard Grecian Charlotte's final words.

"Your love is closer than you think."

* * *

**A/N:**

So the cheese factor is strong in the beginning. The wedding vows, I was listening to Jessica Simpson and this song started playing and I was like…hmm? It's a pretty song, so I took some of the lyrics and made them into wedding vows :)

I added some Klaus POV, and I think he's kind of OOC but at the same time, I view Klaus as a very passionate character in TVD and really intense, so I guess I'd view him as being very intense about Charlotte too, so I tried to find a middle ground…if that makes any sense. And I know that back in then that they didn't wear wedding bands or anything but for the sake of some lovey dovey stuff lets just say that they did.

I swear, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm never happy with my chapters :P Every time I write, I go back and I'm like "Aww, this could be better." "I don't really like that." But I guess I'm kind of satisfied.

So I stumbled across the movie The Fifth Element, because I remembered one of my readers mentioning it before, and I decided to watch it, and it gave me some ideas for Charlotte's meeting with Grecian Charlotte…it's not exactly the same but I gave it a twist :)

And…(yea, yea, I know)…now that I'm finished with school, updates should start to become more regular again and I'll be sure to let you know when I start up school again and when the updates will start to become slow again, but it shouldn't be for a while.

Drop a **review** :)


	29. Not A ChapterAuthor's Note

Sorry guys, this is not a chapter. But a new chapter will hopefully be up by this weekend or the beginning of next week. I'm combining three episodes, that's why it's taking so long for a new chapter to come out. And I want it to be perfect, or as perfect as it can get flow-wise.

I just didn't want to leave you guys hanging and wondering when a new chapter would be here. So I'll try to have it out as soon as possible.

Also…I was thinking of when I really get back into the swing of this story, to maybe start writing another one. (This one will still be my main story/priority.) I was thinking maybe a Stefan/OC or I know some of you in the beginning wanted a Damon love story. So what do you think about that?

**Let me know and thanks for being so patient :)**


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